AMBERGRIS  ISLAND 


OR 


THE;  NEW  EI<  DORADO: 


A  TALE  OF 


LOVE  AND  ADVENTURE 


IN  THE  SOUTHERN  SEAS. 


BY  GEO.  RUSSELL  JACKSON. 


BOSTON: 
W.   A.   EVANS   &  BRO.,   PUBLISHERS. 

1882. 


Uf"JY   I 
.L.lr. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1882, 

By  W.  A.  EVANS  &  BRO., 

in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress, 

at  Washington,  D.  C. 


CONTENTS. 


PROLOGUE. 

CHAPTER  FIRST.— A  new  El  Dorado. 

CHAPTER  SECOND.— Roland  finds  the  means  to  fit  out 

an  expedition. 

CHAPTER  THIRD.— Fitting  out  the  Expedition. 
CHAPTER  FOURTH.— Bound  for  the  Southern  Seas. 
CHAPTER  FIFTH.— A  ship  on  fire. 
CHAPTER  SIXTH.— Rescue  of  the  Crew  of  the  Burning 

Ship. 
CHAPTER    SEVENTH. — Captain  Bracebridge  and  his 

Daughter. 

CHAPTER  EIGHTH.— A  lucky  meeting. 
CHAPTER   NINTH.— Captain    Bracebridge    and  Fanny 

join  the  expedition. 
CHAPTER  TENTH.— The  Sea  Serpent.     A  swim  for  life 

and  a  fight  with  a  shark. 
CHAPTER  ELEVENTH.— The  Sea  Serpent's  attack.     A 

narrow  escape. 

0 
CHAPTER  TWELFTH.— Sam  as  Roland's  evil  genius. 

CHAPTER  THIRTEENTH.— The  Phantom  Ship. 


VI 


CHAPTER  FOURTEENTH.— That  boy  Sam  again. 
CHAPTER  FIFTEENTH.— The  Ambergris  Island. 

CHAPTER  SIXTEENTH.— The  wonders  surrounding  the 
Island. 

CHAPTER  SEVENTEENTH.— The  graves   on   the   hill 
side. 

CHAPTER  EIGHTEENTH.— A  Mysterious   Disappear- 
ance. 

CHAPTER    NINETEENTH.— Seeking    to    recover    the 
Ship. 

CHAPTER  TWENTIETH.— The  King  of  the  Island. 
CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIRST.— Made  Prisoners. 
CHAPETR  TWENTY-SECOND.— A  Terrible  Revenge. 
CHAPTER  TWENTY-THIRD.— A  Strange  Wedding. 
CHAPTER  TWENTY-FOURTH.— Another  Expedition. 

CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIFTH.— A   Bold   Adventure   for 
Liberty. 

CHAPTER  TWENTY-SIXTH.— Rescued. 

CHAPTER  TWENTY-SEVENTH.— Sam  Turns  the  Ta- 
bles. 

CHAPTER  TWENTY-EIGHTH.— Roland  succeeds  in  tell- 
ing Fanny  his  Love. 

CHAPTER  TWENTY-NINTH,— Sam  and  the  Octopus. 

CHAPTER  THIRTIETH.— Destruction  of  the  Star  of  the 
Sea. 

EPILOGUE. 


PREFACE. 

As  a  preface  or  an  introduction  seems  to  be 
necessary  to  a  book,  the  author  of  Ambergris 
Island  complies  with  the  requirement. 

No  special  mission  is  claimed  for  this  story 
except  that  of  interesting  and  amusing  the 
reader  ;  at  the  same  time  it  is  not  without  its 
moral. 

Although  the  story  is  intended  for  the  youth 
of  both  sexes,  I  am  not  without  hope  that  ma- 
turer  minds  may  find  some  pleasure  in  its  pages. 

To  be  interesting  a  story  must  be  exciting,  but 
while  giving  full  weight  to  this  consideration,  I 
have  aimed,  in  the  description  of  the  scenes  and 
incidents,  to  keep  within  the  limits  of  probability. 

The  scenes  are  laid  in  such  a  remote  part  of 
the  world  and  the  expense  of  fitting  out  an  ex- 
pedition of  the  kind  described  in  the  book  so 
so  plainly  set  forth  that  there  is  very  little  dan- 
ger of  the  story  exciting  the  youthful  mind  to 
imitate  Roland  Ranger. 

Moreover,  Roland,  in  fitting  out  his  expedi- 
tion, was  animated  by  a  worthy  motive  and  I 
imagine  that  there  will  be  no  desire  of  emulation 
where  this  or  a  similar  motive  is  wanting. 

Since  the  days  of  the  early  circumnavigators 


Vlll 


there  have  been  few  voyages  of  simple  discov- 
ery, except  in  the  arctic  regions.  Ocean  traffic, 
necessitated  thereto  by  certain  laws  governing 
winds  and  currents,  has  followed  beaten  paths 
and  consequently  there  are  large  tracts  of  ocean, 
particularly  in  the  South  Pacific,  which  are  still 
aqua  incognita  to  navigators ;  hence  the  ex- 
istence of  unknown  islands  in  this  region  is  by 
no  means  improbable. 

Ambergris  is  supposed  to  be  a  morbid  secre- 
tion in  the  spermaceti  whale  and  it  is  requiring 
no  undue  stretch  of  the  imagination  to  fancy  a 
a  locality  to  which  ailing  fish  resort,  where  the 
water  and  food  possess  palliative  or  curative 
properties.  Imagine  this,  and  our  Ambergris 
Island  becomes  a  fact. 

I  may  add  in  this  connection  that  I  have  seen 
cod-fish  caught  on  a  certain  fishing  ground  in 
the  German  Ocean,  nearly  every  one  of  which 
was  attenuated  or  wounded  in  some  part  of  the 
body.  The  fishermen  gave  to  this  ground  the 
name  of  the  Hospital. 

I  have  made  little  attempt  in  the  book  at 
character  sketching,  for  the  reason  that  in  a  story 
of  this  nature  it  is  usual  to  make  character  sub- 
ordinate to  incident.  Nevertheless,!  have  some 
expectation  that  at  least  two  of  the  characters, 
viz. :  Steadfast  Peters  and  Sam  Seabury  will 
not  be  without  attraction,  at  least  for  the  young. 

50  Bromfield  St.,  Boston,  G.  R.  J. 

Sept.   1 8,  1882. 


11  Guilty  or  not  guilty?  " 

"Not  guilty!" 

The  reply  was  spoken  in  clear,  firm  tones 
which  were  distinctly  heard  in  every  part  of  the 
court  room. 

The  speaker  was  a  young  man  of  about 
twenty-two,  with  a  rather  handsome  face  and  a 
clear,  bright  eye. 

There  was  nothing  of  the  criminal  in  his  ap- 
pearance, yet  he  was  arraigned  on  the  serious 
charge  of  highway  robbery  with  violence. 

"  Call  Captain  Ralph  Ranger,"  said  the  dis- 


10  PROLOGUE. 


trict  attorney. 

"  Captain  Ralph  Ranger!"  called  the  court 
crier,  and  a  handsome  brown-haired,  blue-eyed 
man,  of  perhaps  thirty  years  of  age,  stepped 
up  to  the  witness  stand,  and,  holding  up  his 
hand,  was  sworn. 

"  State  to  the  jury  the  particulars  of  this 
affair,"  said  the  district  attorney. 

Thereupon  Captain  Ranger  made  a  statement, 
the  substance  of  which  was,  that  in  passing 
along  Chelsea  Bridge  about  midnight  he  was 
attacked  by  a  man  who  struck  him  with  a  slung- 
shot,  rendering  him  insensible. 

* '  Did  you  see  the  man's  face  ? "  asked  the 
district  attorney. 

"  I  caught  but  a  momentary  glimpse  of  it," 
replied  the  captain. 

"Witness,  look  upon  the  prisoner  at  the  bar. 
Is  he  the  man  who  struck  you  down?  " 

"I  think  he  is." 

"You  can't  positively  swear  that  he  is  the 
man?" 

"  No,  sir.  I  can't  positively  swear  that  he 
is,  but  to  the  best  of  my  belief,  he  is  the  man.'' 

The  cross-examination  did  not  change  the 
statement  of  the  witness. 


PBOLOGUE.  11 

Two  police  officers  testified  that  they  heard 
a  cry,  and  rushing  in  the  direction  whence  it 
came,  found  the  prisoner  stooping  over  the  cap- 
tain, who  was  insensible.  They  arrested  the 
prisoner. 

The  prisoner  now  took  the  stand  in  his  own 
behalf,  and,  being  sworn,  said  that  while  pro- 
ceeding along  the  bridge  he  heard  a  cry,  and, 
hastening  forward,  saw  a  man  bending  over  the 
prostrate  form  of  another.  On  seeing  him  ap- 
proach, the  man  fled.  He  went  forward  and 
stooped  to  lift  the  prostrate  man  from  the 
ground  and  while  in  the  act,  was  seized  by  the 
officers  who  at  that  moment  came  up.  That 
was  all  he  knew  about  the  affair.  He  was  in- 
nocent of  any  crime  ;  not  only  innocent,  but 
was  indeed  doing  an  act  of  kindness  when  ar- 
rested. 

The  prisoner's  counsel  made  an  eloquent  plea 
for  his  client. 

The  district  attorney,  closing  for  the  govern- 
ment, dwelt  strongly  on  the  point  that  Captain 
Ranger  was  impressed  with  the  belief,  from  the 
momentary  glimpse  he  obtained  of  the  features 
of  his  assailant,  that  the  prisoner  was  the  man. 

The   judge,  in  his  charge  to  the  jury,  said 


12  PROLOGUE. 

the  prisoner's  explanation  was  a  plausible  one, 
but,  unfortunately  for  it,  Captain  Ranger's  be- 
lief that  his  assailant  and  the  accused  were 
identical,  threw  grave  doubts  on  its  probability. 
He  would  leave  it  to  the  jury,  however,  to  de- 
cide whether  it  was  worthy  of  credence.  The 
appearances  were  against  the  prisoner,  but  it 
was  quite  possible  that  Captain  Ranger  might 
be  mistaken  and  the  young  man  be  entirely  in- 
nocent. 

The  jury  retired  and  after  an  absence  of  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  returned. 

The  prisoner  looked  anxiously  at  the  fore- 
man, as  the  clerk  put  the  usual  question : — 

'  *  Do  you  find  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  guilty 
or  not  guilty  ?  " 

"  Guilty,"  answered  the  foreman. 

The  prisoner's  lip  quivered  and  his  eyes 
flashed.  « 'Captain  Ranger,"  he  said,  looking 
at  the  witness  whose  testimony  had  fastened 
the  crime  upon  him,  "Captain  Ranger,  you 
will  make  a  heavy  settlement  for  this,  some 
day." 

The  prisoner  was  sentenced  to  five  years  im- 
prisonment, with  hard  labor,  in  the  state  pris- 
on, one  day  solitary. 


THE    STOHY. 


CHAPTER  FIRST. 

A   NEW  EL  DORADO. 

"  The  most  wonderful  thing  I  ever  heard  of." 

"By  Jove!  'there's  millions  in  it'  as  Col. 
Sellers  says." 

"Yes,  tens  of  millions." 

"  An  ambergris  island  you  say  ?  *' 

"Not  exactly  an  ambergris  island,  but  an 
island  whose  shores  are  covered  with  ambergris." 

"  And  ambergris  is  valued  at  five  dollars  an 
ounce  ?  " 

"Yes.  It  is  one  of  the  scarcest  articles  of 
commerce." 


14  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

"This  discovery  will  make  a  break  in  the 
market." 

44  Not  at  all,  if  the  island  is  taken  possession 
of  by  a  company.  Under  such  circumstances 
the  company  would  control  the  supply,  and  dic- 
tate the  price." 

44  That  is  true.  Where  did  you  say  this  island 
was  situated  ?  " 

44  In  the  South  Pacific." 

44  The  South  Pacific.  That  isn't  a  very  pre- 
cise direction.  The  South  Pacific  is  a  big  place." 

44 1  am  aware  of  it,  but  the  latitude  and  lon- 
gitude are  given." 

44  Indeed !     That  is  more  satisfactory." 

44  Of  course ;  to  say  that  there  is  a  valuable 
island  somewhere  in  the  South  Pacific  Ocean 
would  be  like  saying  there  is  a  valuable  diamond 
somewhere  among  the  sands  of  the  sea  shore." 

44  Of  course," 

44  But  when  in  addition  to  the  information 
that  there  is  an  ambergris  island  in  the  South 
Pacific,  the  directions  are  given  where  to  find 
it—" 

44  Ah !     Then  that  is  business." 

44  Certainly  :  this  island  is  somewhere  in  lon- 
gitude 125°  West  of  Greenwich,  and  15°  South 
of  the  equator." 


AMBEKGEIS  ISLAND.  15 

"  That  should  be  near  enough  as  a  direction. 
Is  there  any  island  laid  down  on  the  map  in  the 
locality  you  mention?  " 

"None." 

"  It  is  a  recent  discovery  then  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"How  was  it  discovered? " 

"  By  its  odor." 

"That  is  rather  strange,  isn't  it?"  . 

"Not  at  all.  Ambergris  is  an  odorous  sub- 
stance ;  it  is  used  for  flavoring  wines  and  cor- 
dials, and  ladies  of  the  wealthy  class  sometimes 
use  it  as  a  perfume.  The  discoverers  of  the 
island  detected  the  odor  of  ambergris  in  the  air ; 
they  sailed  in  the  direction  from  which  the  scent 
came ;  as  they  sailed  they  found  large  masses  of 
ambergris  floating  on  the  water,  and  at  length 
sighted  the  island." 

"  This  is  very  interesting." 

"  It  is  indeed,  but  you  will  think  it  still  more 
so  when  I  have  told  you  all.  You  know  that 
ambergris  comes  from  the  sperm  whale.  Well 
this  island  or  the  water  surrounding  it,  is  sup- 
posed to  be  sought  by  sick  and  dying  whales ; 
the  ambergris  their  bodies  contain  is  after  their 
death  washed  on  shore  and  there  it  lies ;  there  it 
has  been  accumulating  for  ages,  probably  since 


16  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

the  creation  ;  indeed,  there  is  so  much  of  it  that 
the  atmosphere  for  a  distance  of  sixty  miles  from 
the  island  is  perfumed  by  it." 

"  There  must  be  thousands  of  tons  of  it." 

"  Yes,  tens  of  thousands  of  tons." 

"  What  vast  wealth." 

"  Yes,  ten  thousand  tons  of  ambergris  would 
be  worth  one  billion  six  hundred  millions  of 
dollars." 

"Whew  I     Don't  turn  a  fellow's  head." 

"But  there  is  one  drawback  to  the  whole 
thing." 

"Ah!     What  is  that?" 

"  The  island  is  surrounded  by  a  coral  reef  and 
is  unapproachable." 

"O,  then  the  discoverers  did  not  land  upon  it?" 

"  They  could  not ;  they  sailed  around  it,  pro- 
cured about  one  hundred  tons  of  ambergris 
which  they  found  floating  on  the  surface  of  the 
water,  but  they  saw  no  break  in  the  coral  reef, 
and  therefore  could  not  land.  " 

"  Ah,  then  that  is  an  end  to  the  whole  thing." 

"  Not  at  all.  A  company  is  to  be  formed,  an 
expedition  sent  out,  and  a  closer  examination 
made  of  the  coral  reef,  with  a  view  to  rinding  a 
passage  through  it  to  the  island." 

"  Are  you  to  be  one  of  the  company  ?  " 


AMBEEGEIS  ISLAND.  IT 

"  I  am.  I  have  subscribed  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars to  the  enterprise." 

"  Put  me  down  for  the  same  amount." 

The  speakers  were  two  Boston  merchants. 
Their  conversation  was  carried  on  in  an  ordi- 
nary tone  of  voice  as  they  were  riding  in  a  rail- 
road car  to  one  of  the  beaches  that  lie  adjacent 
to  Boston.  They  did  not  intend  their  conver- 
sation for  any  ears  but  their  own,  and  with  the 
exception  of  one  young  man,  no  person  took 
any  notice  of  their  talk. 

This  young  man,  however,  paid  eager  atten- 
tion to  every  word  that  was  spoken,  and  when 
the  gentlemen  concluded  he  murmured  to  him- 
self: 

"My  theory  is  correct  then.  My  father  is 
alive  !  I  will  find  the  ambergris  island  and 
rescue  him,  or  my  name  is  not  Roland  Ranger ! 

Who  Roland  Ranger  was,  and  what  he  meant 
by  these  words  will  be  seen  in  another  chapter. 


18  AMBEBGBIS  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER    SECOND. 

KOLAND    FINDS    THE    MEANS    TO    FIT    OUT  AN 
EXPEDITION. 

Ten  years  before  the  opening  of  our  story 
Captain  Ralph  Ranger,  the  father  of  Roland 
Ranger,  sailed  on  the  barque  Stormy  Petrel,  of 
which  he  was  commander,  for  a  whaling  cruise 
in  the  South  Pacific.  A  year  after  sailing  he  sent 
a  letter  home  saying  he  had  met  with  poor  luck, 
but  had  heard  of  the  existence  of  an  ambergris 
island  and  was  about  to  explore  the  South  Pa- 
cific in  search  of  it. 

If  he  succeeded  in  finding  it  he  expected  to 
return  home  with  vast  wealth.  After  this  let- 
ter the  Stormy  Petrel  was  heard  of  no  more. 

Old  sailors  said  she  had  either  gone  down  in  a 
squall,  or  had  been  wrecked  on  some  inhospita- 
ble shore. 

When  Captain  Ranger  sailed,  he  left  behind 
him  a  wife  and  a  son.  The  son,  Roland,  was  at 


AMBEEGKIS  ISLAND.  19 


that  time  twelve  years  old.  As  he  grew  up  he 
often  used  to  wonder  what  had  become  of  his 
father  and  why  it  was  that  no  tidings  had  ever 
been  heard  of  him  after  he  set  out  to  search  for 
the  ambergris  island. 

Pondering  on  this,  the  idea  entered  his  mind 
that  his  father  might  have  reached  the  island, 
have  been  wrecked  on  its  shores,  and  still  be 
there,  waiting  and  looking  for  some  passing  sail 
to  rescue  him. 

This  idea  took  such  a  powerful  hold  on  his 
mind  that  he  could  scarcely  think  of  anything 
else,  and  he  resolved,  if  ever  he  had  the  means, 
to  fit  out  an  expedition  and  go  in  search  of  the 
ambergris  island. 

To  familiarize  himself  with  the  sea  he  went 
on  several  mackerel  voyages  during  his  vaca- 
tions, and  during  these  vo}'ages  he  had  met  with 
old  whalemen  who  had  perfect  faith  in  the  ex- 
istence of  the  ambergris  island.  But  they  lo- 
cated it  in  the  antarctic  regions,  somewhere  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Island  of  Desolation. 

At  the  opening  of  our  story  Roland  had  just 
been  graduated  from  the  high  school,  and  was 
on  his  way  to  the  beach  to  enjoy  a  holiday  by 
the  sea  of  which,  like  the  sons  of  sailors,  he  was 
very  fond. 


20  AMBEEGBIS  ISLAND. 

Roland  was  as  fine  a  type  of  young  manhood 
as  the  eyes  would  wish  to  rest  upon.  He  was 
tall,  and  though  only  twenty-two  years  of  age, 
was  finely  formed.  His  hair  was  brown,  his 
eyes  of  a  deep  blue,  and  his  skin  as  white  and 
delicate  as  that  of  a  girl, 

He  was  dressed  in  a  man-of-war  shirt,  blue- 
flannel  pantaloons,  and  straw  hat,  and  looked, 
T^very  inch  a  sailor." 

Overhearing  the  conversation  of  the  two 
Boston  merchants  he  was  more  than  ever  con- 
vinced that  his  father  had  found  the  ambergris 
island  and  might  still  be  there  alive. 

"  I  must  fit  out  an  expedition,"  said  he,  "  and 
I  must  ask  my  uncle  Roland  for  the  means  to 
do  it." 

His  uncle  Roland,  or  rather  his  grand-uncle, 
was  a  rich  Philadelphia  ship-owner  to  whom  the 
Stormy  Petrel,  in  which  his  father  sailed,  had 
belonged. 

"  Yes,"  said  Roland,  reflectively  ;,  "  I  think 
when  my  uncle  Roland  hears  of  this  discovery, 
he  will  give  me  the  means  to  fit  out  an  expedi- 
tion. I  will  go  home  and  consult  with  mother." 

On  reaching  home  Roland  found  his  mother 


AMBERGKIS  ISLAND.  21 

in  earnest  conversation  with  Israel  Hopkins,  the 
family  lawyer. 

"Well,  here  is  news,  Roland,"  said  Mrs. 
Ranger. 

"  O,  I  have  great  news,  too,"  said  Roland. 

"What  is  it?" 

"  The  ambergris  island  has  been  found.'' 

"The  ambergris  island!" 

"Yes,  in  longitude  125°  west,  latitude  15° 
south." 

"  Who  told  you  ?  " 

"  I  overheard  all  about  it  in  a  conversation 
that  was  carried  on  by  two  gentlemen  in  the 
cars." 

"  That  is  strange,"  said  the  lawyer  ;  "  I  have 
just  called  on  the  same  business." 

"  You  !     Do  you  know  anything  about  it?" 

"  Only  this,  that  your  grand-uncle  has  placed 
a  large  sum  of  money  at  your  disposal  to  fit  out 
an  expedition  to  go  in  search  of  this  island." 

"  God  bless  him  !  Now  I  will  find  my  father. 
I  shall  start  immediately.  How  much  money 
am  I  to  have  ?  " 

"  As  much  as  you  need." 

"  Then  it  is  settled." 

"  You  will  go  ?  " 


22  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND 

"As  soon  as  the  expedition  can  be  got 
ready." 

"  You  will  buy  a  ship  ?  " 

"A  schooner  yacht.  I  saw  her  yesterday  — 
a  beauty  ,  ready  to  launch  ;  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars is  the  price  asked  for  her." 

"  Where  is  she  ?  " 

"  In  an  East  Boston  ship-yard.  The  man 
who  was  to  have  her  has  gone  into  bankruptcy, 
and  she  is  for  sale." 

"If  you  think  she  will  suit,  we  will  go  out  at 
once  and  buy  her." 

"She  couldn't  have  suited  better  if  she  had 
been  built  on  purpose  for  the  expedition." 

"  You  will  need  an  able  crew." 

"  I  have  thought  all  that  out.  I  will  have  as 
fine  a  crew  as  ever  manned  a  ship.  I  shall  be 
nominally  commander  of  the  expedition,  but  I 
shall  carry  a  sailing-master  who  will  be  actual 
captain  of  the  ship,  a  first  and  second  lieuten- 
ant, as  officers,  a  boatswain,  gunner,  carpenter, 
cook,  cabin  boy,  and  ten  men." 

"I  must  say  you  have  got  it  down  fine,  Ro- 
land, to  use  the  language  of  the  age." 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  I  have  thought  it  all  out.  Are 
you  quite  willing,  mother,  that  I  should  go  oil 
this  expedition?  " 


AMBERGKIS  ISLAND,  23 

"I  am,  my  son,  if  there  is  the  least  hope  of 
finding  your  father." 

"  I  will  find  him.     I  am  certain  he  is  alive.'* 

"  Well,  then,"  said  the  lawyer,  "  let  us  go 
and  purchase  this  yacht,  and,  if  she  appears  to 
me  to  be  a  safe  vessel,  I  will  accompany  the  ex- 
pedition, and  so  will  my  friend  Dr.  Vaiulen- 
hoffer." 

"  What,  the  celebrated  naturalist?" 

"  The  same." 

"  That  will  be  excellent." 

The  schooner  yacht,  a  remarkably  fine  vessel, 
was  purchased,  and  a  week  later  was  launched. 

As  she  glided  from  the  ship-yard  to  the  water, 
amid  the  cheers  of  the  admiring  spectators,  Mrs. 
Ranger  broke  a  bottle  of  wine  over  her  bow, 
and  christened  her  The  Star  of  the  Sea. 


24  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND, 


CHAPTER   THIRD. 

FITTING   OUT   THE  EXPEDITION. 

THE  Star  of  the  Sea  was  towed  alongside  the 
wharf,  and  immediate  preparations  were  made 
for  putting  in  her  masts  and  rigging. 

Roland  at  once  set  about  engaging  his  crew. 

Two  months  later  the  vessel  was  prepared 
and  ready  for  sea. 

She  carried  provisions  for  three  years.  A 
large  proportion  of  these  were  canned  goods. 

Her  cabins  and  grand  'saloon  were  fitted  up 
luxuriously.  The  latter  contained  a  grand  up- 
right Woodward  &  Brown  piano  and  a  hand- 
some parlor  organ  of  the  New  England  Co.'s 
manufacture. 

The  armament  of  the  vessel  consisted  of  cut- 
lasses, revolvers,  rifles,  various  kinds  of  explo- 
sives, and,  on  deck,  four  small  rifled  cannon 
and  a  long  rifled  bow-chaser. 

The  deck  armament  was  provided  to  repel 
attack  from  savage  South-Sea  Islanders. 

Every  provision  had  been  made  for  comfort, 


AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 


25 


every  detail  attended  to  that  would  contribute 
to  the  safely  of  the  expedition  and  promote  its 
chances  of  success. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  the  officers  and 
crew,  every  one  of  whom  had  been  selected  for 
the  expedition  from  among  large  numbers  of 
applicants : 


NAME. 

AGP: 

RANK. 

WHERE  BORN. 

Roland  Ranger, 

22 

Commander, 

United  States. 

Fred.  Hardman, 

32 

Sailing  Mast'r, 

<i                         »4 

Jack  Macpherson, 

28 

1st  Lieuten't, 

Scotland. 

Dan  Maguiness, 

25 

2d 

Ireland. 

Albert  Marble, 

20 

Surgeon, 

United  States. 

Tom  Carl, 

2!) 

Gunner, 

14                         11 

Bill  Jones, 

25 

Boatswain, 

H                        <« 

George  Harris, 

30 

Carpenter, 

(I                         it 

Steadfast  Peters, 

(colored), 

45 

Cook, 

<(                         « 

Carl  Siei'ert, 

24 

Seaman, 

Holland. 

John  Dixon, 
William  Telfort, 

23 

28 

England. 
Valparaiso,  S.  A. 

Bob  Mates, 

25 

Nova  Scotia. 

Andrew  Dunn, 

24 

Scotland. 

Pat.  McCarthy, 

20 

Ireland. 

Joe  Esrich, 

25 

Denmark. 

Emil  Bjornson, 

29 

Norway. 

Dick  Littlejolm, 

30 

England. 

Arthur  Pease, 

23 

»* 

Sam.  Seabury, 

14 

Cabin-Boy, 

United  States. 

Lawyer  Hopkins, 

46 

Passenger, 

«          «« 

Dr.  Vandenhoffer, 

(Naturalist), 

50 

" 

Germany. 

26  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

Roland  experienced  more  difficulty  in  secur- 
ing a  cabin-boy  than  in  hiring  the  whole  of  his 
crew. 

A  great  many  boys  were  willing  to  go,  but 
their  parents  or  guardians  objected  to  their 
sharing  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  such  a 
peculiar  expedition* 

Roland  was  about  to  resign  himself  to  going 
without  a  cabin-boy,  when  chance  led  him  into 
the  acquaintance  of  the  very  boy  he  wanted. 

On  opening  the  door  of  Lawyer  Hopkins' 
outer  office,  one  clay,  Roland's  vision  was  con- 
fronted by  a  pair  of  boots  —  very  old  and  very 
much  worn  boots  — in  the  air.  Roland  ran  his 
eyes  down  a  pair  of  ragged  pants,  past  a  much- 
patched  jacket,  till  they  rested  on  a  good- 
natured  and  grinning  face,  stuck  into  an  eld 
Kossuth  hat  on  the  floor. 

"  Why,  what  are  you  doing  ? "  exclaimed 
Roland,  in  astonishment. 

"  Practising  "  was  the  answer,  as  the  boot- 
heels  came  to  the  floor  with  a  crash,  and  a  boy 
of  the  street-gamin  class  rose  before  Roland. 

"  Praotising  what  ?  "  asked  Roland. 

"  For  any  thin'.  I  wouldn't  mind  the  surcus, 
but  I'd  ruther  go  on  the  stage  as  a  contortionist* 


AMBERGRIS  ISLAND.  27 


ef  I  could  get  a  berth  'cordin  to  the  statoots 
made  an'  purvided." 

"  Are  you  Mr.  Hopkins'  boy  ?  " 

"  No,  siree  bob.  Mr.  Hopkins  aint  married, 
an  yer  wouldn't  see  me  in  these  here  togs  ef  I 
wuz  that  there  gentleman's  boy." 

"  I  mean,  are  you  his  office-boy  ?  " 

"  I  does  'cassional  jobs  fur  'im,  ef  that's  what 
yer  mean.  I'm  studyin'  law.  The  evidence 
you  shall  give  in  this  case  shall  be  the  truth, 
the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  so 
help  yer  bob  —  'cordin'  to  the  statoots  made  an' 
purvided." 

"  You  seem  to  be  well  up  in  law,"  said  Ro- 
land, laughing. 

u  Yes,  siree  :  read  Blackstone,  Whitestone, 
Greenstone  ;  and  when  I'm  admitted  to  the  bar 
I'll  have  a  Brownstone — front  on  Common- 
wealth Avenue,  'cordin'  to  the  statoots  made 
and  purvided." 

"Is  Mr.  Hopkins  in?" 

"  You  kin  gamble  a  consid'able  trifle  on  that 
same." 

44  Which  means,  I  suppose,  that  he  is  in.     Ifc 
would  require  less  breath  to  say  4  Yes.' '' 
*     "  But  thore  aint  so  much  satisfaction  in  it;  a 
feller  likes  to  hear  hisself  talk." 


28  AMRERGR1S  ISLAND. 

"  That  is  true  ;  but  that's  no  excuse  for  using 
slang.  I  guess  I'll  go  in  and  see  Mr.  Hop- 
kins." 

"  All  right.  I  guess  you  are  the  gent  what's 
goin'  to  sail  in  that  there  clipper  schooner  lyin' 
off  in  the  Narrers." 

"  I  am.     How  did  you  know  it  ?  " 

"  O,  I  seen  you  aboard  of  her.  Susan !  aint 
she  a  beauty  !  I'd  like  to  be  cook  and  first 
mate  on  board  of  her,  —  'cordin'  to  the  statoots 
made  an'  purvided." 

Roland  passed  into  the  office. 

"  Whose  boy  is  that  you  have  in  }-our  office  ?  " 
he  asked,  when  the  usual  greetings  had  passed. 

"  He  is  an  orphan,"  replied  the  lawyer ;  "  a 
singular  boy,  —  very  precocious,  but  obedient 
and  willing.  Why  do  you  ask?  " 

"  Because  I  have  not  yet  secured  a  cabin-boy. 
You  say  he  is  an  orphan.  Who  is  his  guar- 
dian ?  " 

"  Himself.  He  ekes  out  a  precarious  living 
by  blacking  boots  ai:d  doing  odd  errands  for 
me, 4  'cordin'  to  the  statoots  made  and  purvided,' 
as  he  will  tell  you.  He  has  picked  up  that 
much  of  law  since  he  has  been  here,  and  he 
uses  it  very  freely.  I  do  not  know  but  that  it 


AMBERGRIS  ISLAND.  29 


would  be  a  good  thing  for  him  to  become  your 
cabin-boy." 

"  Why,  he's  the  very  boy  I've  been  looking 
for.  If  he  has  no  parents  and  no  guardian,  he 
can  judge  for  himself  whether  he  would  like  the 
position  of  cabin-boy  or  not.  May  I  call  him 
in?" 

At  that  instant  there  was  a  loud  crash  in  the 
outer  office. 

"  Good  gracious  !  "  exclaimed  the  lawyer  ; 
"what's  that?" 

Roland  opened  the  door  and  the  cause  of  the 
crash  was  explained.  The  boy  had  been  prac- 
ticing, as  usual,  standing  on  his  head,  and  hav- 
ing lost  his  equilibrium  had  fallen  against  the 
stove-pipe  and  brought  it  down  with  a  clatter. 
He  was  in  the  act  of  detaching  himself  from 
the  ruins  when  Roland  opened  the  door. 

"Why,  what  are  you  doing,  Sam?"  Mr. 
Hopkins  inquired,  while  Roland  with  much 
more  difficulty  restrained  himself  from  laughing 
at  the  woe-begone  countenance  of  the  boy. 

"  I  wuz  a  practising  sir,  an'  lost  my  balance." 

"  The  stove-pipe  has  lost  its  balance,  too,  ap- 
parently," said  Mr.  Hopkins,  laughing.  "  Never 
mind,  Sam,  fix  it  up  again  and  coine  into  my 
office." 


30  AMEEEGE1S  ISLAND. 

Sam  speedily  repaired  the  damage  and  pre- 
sented himself  in  the  inner  office. 

"  You  are  an  active  kind  of  a  fellow,  I  think, 
said  Roland. 

"You  can  bet  a  trifle  on  that  there,  sir;  I 
kin  kick  the  back  of  my  neck  with  my  boot-heel." 

"What  is  your  object  in  standing  so  much 
on  your  head  ?  "  the  lawyer  asked. 

"  I  am  a  learnin'  to  walk  on  my  head,  sir." 

"  Well,"  said  Roland,  laughing,  "  I've  heard 
of  people  walking  on  their  ears  but  never  on 
their  heads.', 

"  How  would  you  like  to  go  to  sea,  Sam  ?  " 

"Nothin'  'ud  suit  me  better,  sir.  I  come  of- 
fen  a  sea  family.  Seabury's  my  name  and  sea- 
bury's  my  natur' '' 

"How  would  you  like  to  go  as  cabin  boy  in 
the  Star  of  the  Sea  ?  She's  a  splendid  vessel, 
and  I'm  going  in  her  myself." 

"  That's  the  ticket  for  me,  sir.  I'd  like  the 
job  if  I  could  git  it.  But  how  am  I  to  git  it  ?  " 

"I  will  engage  }rou,"  said  Roland.  "  I  think 
you  will  just  suit  me.  But  do  you  think  you 
will  like  going  to  sea  ?  " 

"Like  it?  I  take  to  water  like  a  duck,  sir. 
All  our  family  wuz  fond  of  the  sea.  I  had  two 
uncles  and  a  fust  cousin  drownded  at  sea."* 


AMBEBGEIS  ISLAND.  31 

"  I  shouldn't  think  that  circumstance  likely 
to  render  the  sea  attractive  to  you,"  remarked 
the  lawyer. 

"  Everybody  has  their  luck,  sir.  What's  to 
be  is  to  be,  an'  yer  can't  get  away  from  it.  I'm 
a  specialist,  I  am. 

"  You  mean  a  fatalist,"  said  Roland,  laughing. 

"It's  all  the  same  thing,  sir.  What's  afore 
you  is  afore  you;  what's  behind  you  is  behind 
you." 

"  That's  fatalism,  with  a  vengence,"  said  the 
lawer,  smiling. 

"  But  is  I  goin'to  git  the  chance  of  cabin-boy 
in  that  there  clipper  ?  That's  the  question  that 
comes  before  the  house.  All  in  favor  of  it  say 
'  aye.'  AYE  1  'Trary  minded, — nobody  speaks. 
It  is  a  vote." 

"  It  is  a  vote,"  said  Roland,  laughing,  "  and 
you  are  engaged." 

"As  cabin-boy?" 

"  As  cabin-boy." 

"  'Cordin  to  the  statoots  made  an'  purvided  ?". 

"Exactly." 

"  Hurrah  !  " 

Having  thus  given  expression  to  his  satisfac- 
tion Sam  withdrew  to  the  outer  office  and  stood 


32  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

on  his  head  for  ten  minutes  to  ratify  the  engage- 
ment. 

Thus  Sam  Seabury  became  cabin-boy  of  the 
Star  of  the  Sea. 


AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER  FOURTH. 

BOUND   FOR   THE   SOUTHERN   SEAS. 

On  the  morning  on  the  23d  of  September,  the 
moorings  which  attached  the  Star  of  the  Sea 
to  Constitution  wharf,  Boston,  were  cast  off,  and 
the  steam-tug  Kate  came  along  side  to  tow  the 
schooner  out  into  the  bay. 

As  the  moorings  were  being  cast  off  the  crew 
started  a  song  which  had  been  written  by  Dr. 
Yandenhoffer  for  the  occasion,  and  set  to  music 
also  by  that  gentleman. 

The  men  had  been  practicing  the  song  for 
some  time  and  were  fully  acquainted  with  the 
air,  which  was  a  lively'  one,  and  the  cook,  Stead- 
fast Peters,  who  was  a  fine  violinist,  had  learned 
to  play  an  accompaniment  to  it. 

The  crew  sang  with  great  heartiness,  and  the 
officers  themselves  did  not  refrain  from  joining 
in. 

The  melody  rose  cheerfully  on  the  morning 
air  and  caused  the  early  passengers  on  the  Chel* 


34  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

sea  and  East  Boston  ferry  boats  to  rush  out  of 
the  cabins  to  listen  to  it. 
This  was  the  song : 

BOUND  FOR  THE  SOUTHERN  SEAS. 

We  are  sailing  far  away 

From  old  Massachusetts  bay, 
In  the  good  ship  the  Star  of  the  Sea. 

And  we  do  not  fear  to  brave 

All  the  dangers  of  the  wave, 
For  a  tried  and  trusty  crew  are  we. 

CHORUS. — Then  ho  yeo  boys  let  the  moorings  go, 
And  hoist  all  the  canvass  to  the  breeze, 
And  haul  upon  your  sheets 
Till  the  wind  the  vessel  meets, 
For  we're  bound  for  the  Southern  Seas ! 

Good  bye  to  all  the  girls 

With  their  rosy  cheeks  and  curls, 
Good  bye  till  we  see  them  all  again. 

While  upon  the  ocean  blue 

May  their  love  be  ever  true, 
Till  they  welcome  us  back  from  the  main. 

CHORUS. — Then  ho  yeo,  etc. 

Then  when  our  voyage  is  o'er, 
And  we've  landed  on  the  shore, 

No  more  o'er  the  ocean  we'll  roam, 
If  the  pretty  little  girls 
With  their  rosy  cheeks  and  curls, 

Are  but  waiting  to  wrelcome  us  home. 

CHORUS.— Then  ho  yeo,  etc. 


AMBERGRIS  ISLAND.  35 

As  the  crew  were  singing  the  chorus  to  the 
last  verse,  Roland  embraced  his  mother,  who 
stood  on  the  wharf,  then  springing  lightly  on 
board  of  the  Star  of  the  Sea,  he  gave  the  signal, 
and  the  tug  boat  drew  the  vessel  slowly  out  from 
the  landing. 

The  large  crowd  of  spectators  who  had  got 
wind  of  the  strange  expedition,  and  whom  the 
desire  to  witness  its  departure  had  drawn  to  the 
wharf,  gave  three  cheers,  which  were  answered 
with  great  heartiness  by  the  crew  of  the  Star  of 
the  Sea. 

Mrs.  Ranger  continued  to  wave  her  handker- 
chief as  long  as  Roland's  form  was  distinguish- 
able, and  with  true  filial  affection  he  answered  the 
signal  of  maternal  love  by  waving  his  own. 

Until  the  Star  of  the  Sea  passed  from  her  gaze 
Mrs.  Ranger  stood  on  the  wharf.  Then  with, a 
sad  heart  she  went  home  and  prayed  for  the 
success  of  the  expedition  and  its  safe  return. 

There  was  a  fine  breeze  blowing  from  the 
north,  northwest  and  as  soon  as  the  vessel  was 
clear  of  the  islands  of  the  harbor  the  further 
assistance  of  the  tug  boat  was  dispensed  with. 

Indeed,  Roland  would  not  have  engaged  a  tug 
boat  at  all  to  tow  such  a  vessel  out  of  the  har- 
bor, for  there  was  uo  need  of  one  with  such  a 


36  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

fine  and  fair  breeze  blowing,  but  he  wished  to 
make  sure  of  getting  out  of  the  harbor  all  right ; 
he  did  not  wish  any  accident  to  happen  at  the 
beginning  of  the  voyage. 

"  Now, "  said  Roland  to  Fred  Hardman  the 
sailing  master ;  "let  us  see  what  the  Star  of  the 
Sea  will  do  with  this  breeze.  She  ought  to  make 
twelve  knots  an  hour.  Don't  you  think  so  ?  " 

"  Yes,  fifteen,  if  she  is  as  good  as  she  looks. 
But  we  will  take  out  of  her  all  she  is  worth  if 
this  breeze  holds.  She  is  a  dainty  craft  and 
skims  the  sea  like  a  swallow.  I  wonder  you  did 
not  call  her  the  swallow.  What  fancy  made 
you  name  her  the  Star  of  the  Sea?  " 

" It  was  a  fancy  of  my  mother's"  said  Ro- 
land ;  "  my  father  used  to  say  that  she  was  his 
star  —  the  star  that  always  guided  him  home 
after  a  long  voyage,  and  I  have  often  heard  him 
speak  of  her  as  the  star  of  the  sea  and  the  true 
wife  on  shore.  " 

"I  think  she  is  a  noble  woman, "  said  Hard- 
man, "  and  I  hope  this  expedition  will  be  suc- 
cessful for  her  sake.  " 

"  Amen,  "  said  Roland  as  he  walked  forward. 

"  Ees  dis  vessel  not  rather  small  for  a  voyage 
around  de  world  ?  "  asked  Dr.  Vandenhoffer  ad- 
dressing Lawyer  Hopkins  as  the  two  stood  leaning 


AMBERGRIS  ISLAND.  37 

against  the  taffrail  watching  the  rapidly  reced- 
ing harbor  of  Boston,  for  the  Star  of  the  Sea 
with  all  her  white  canvass  spread  was  now  ca- 
reering along  with  the  speed  of  a  locomotive. 

"  To  tell  the  truth  I  never  gave  a  thought  to 
that  before,  "  answered  the  lawyer ;  "  but  I 
should  think  not.  When  men  cross  the  Atlantic 
in  a  common  fishing  dory  I  do  not  see  any  rea- 
son why  a  superbly  equipped  clipper  schooner 
carrying  a  hundred  tons  of  ballast  in  the  form  of 
provisions,  ice,  water,  armament  and  other 
things  should  not  be  safe  enough  to  go  any- 
where. " 

"  Dot  is  so.  I  suppose  dis  crew  of  fine  seamen 
with  plenty  of  experience  knew  all  about  dot 
when  they  joined  dis  ship. " 

"  Yes  and  they  are  better  judges  than  we  are 
—  we  were  just  discussing  the  subject  of  whether 
this  vessel  is  large  enough  to  be  safe  for  such  a 
voyage, "  added  the  lawyer  addressing  Fred 
Hardman  who  had  approached  the  pair. 

"  Large  enough  !  indeed  she  is.  I  would  ask 
no  better  vessel  to  circumnavigate  the  globe. 
Why  I  have  seen  a  man-of-war  go  down  in  the 
Bay  of  Biscay  and  a  small  French  lugger  ride 
out  the  storm  without  sustaining  the  loss  of  a 
spar  or  a  stitch  of  canvass.  Large  vessels  are 


38  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

not  always  the  safest.  This  is  the  prettiest, 
trimmest,  daintiest  craft  that  I  ever  sailed  in  or 
ever  saw,  and  I  think  she  is  the  speediest  too  as 
I  will  shortly  test  —  stand  by  to  heave  the  log  !  " 
added  the  sailing  master  as  he  walked  over  to 
leeward. 

The  log  was  thrown  and  it  was  found  that  the 
Star  of  the  Sea  was  making  thirteen  knots,  that 
is  to  say,  going  along  at  the  rate  of  thirteen  miles 
an  hour. 

"If  she  keeps  at  this  pace  for  a  week,  "  said 
Roland,  we  shall  be  away  across  the  gulf  stream 
and  well  up  to  the  equator. 

"  Yes  sir,"  answered  the  first  lieutenant  Jack 
Macpherson, "  and  if  we  give  her  a  good  offing  and 
get  the  northeast  trades,  we  can  speedily  run 
her  up  to  the  equator  and  after  that  keep  on  to 
the  straits  of  Le  Maire  on  a  bowline." 

"  Close  hauled  on  de  port  tack  and  nebber  start  a 
sheet  for  a  fortnight,"  added  Steadfast  Peters, who 
had  chased  Sam  aft  with  a  toasting  fork,  the  lat- 
ter having  been  making  free  with  the  viands  in 
the  galley,  and  had  overheard  the  remark  of  the 
first  lieutenant. 

"Yes,  old  Sted.,"  answered  Macpherson  with 
a  smile,  "you  and  I  have  sailed  together  before, 
mon." 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  39 

"  Yes  sar,  in  de  ole  Niglithawk." 

"  You  are  old  shipmates  then,"  said  Roland 
addressing  the  first  lieutenant. 

"Yes,  old  Sted.  and  I  have  been  round  the 
Horn  Le lore." 

"Dat's  de  trufe,  Massa  Ranger,  and  dar  nebber 
was  a  better  sailor  in  dis  world  dan  your  fust 
luff." 

"  Thank  you  for  your  recommendation  Sted,," 
said  Macpherson,  laughing;  "  let  me  acknowl- 
edge it  by  saying  that  there  never  was  a  better 
cook  than  yourself,  nor  a  better  seaman  either." 

"  Thank  you  sar.  I  'spects  we  bofe  of  us  will 
need  all  de  seamanship  we  has  afo'  dis  yer  v'yage 
am  ober." 

"  He  is  probably  right  there,"  said  Roland,  as 
the  cook  went  forward. 


40  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER  FIFTH. 

A   SHIP   ON  FIRE. 

"  I  wonder  whar  dat  boy  am  gone  !"  said  old 
Sted.,  which  was  the  name  the  cook  usually 
bore  among  his  shipmates. 

Just  then  his  eye  caught  sight  of  Sam  among 
the  sailors. 

Old  Sted.  darted  forward,  and,  catching 
Sam  by  the  collar,  held  up  the  toasting  fork 
threateningly,  as  he  sang  out. 

"Whar  am  dat  pie?" 

"Are  yer  a-goin'  ter  toast  me,"  cried  Sam 
holding  up  his  hands  in  mock  terror  ;  "  'cause 
ef  we'er  a-goin  ter  hev  a  toast  let's  hev  suthin' 
ter  drink  fust." 

"  Whar  am  dat  pie  ?  " 

"What  pie?" 

"  De  pie  you  took  offen  de  galley  shelf." 

"What  kind  of  a  pie?" 

"  Dat  ar  lemming  pie  dat  was  fo'  de  kepting's 
table." 

"  What  kind  of  a  lemon  pie  ?  " 


AMBERGBIS  ISLAND.  41 

"  Dat  ar  lemming  pie  what  I  jes'  done  put  on 
de  shelf." 

"  O,  that  pie  !  Is  that  the  pie  that  yer  after? 
Why  didn't  yer  say  so  before?  How  could  I 
tell  what  kind  of  a  pie  yer  were  after  ?  That's 
the  pie  is  it  ?  Course  I  know  the  pie  yer  mean 
now  ;  course  I  do." 

"  Wharis  it?" 

"  Where  is  that  pie  ?  O,  yer  want  ter  know 
where  it  is  ?  Mr.  Peters  yer  are  a  riglar  cate- 
chism fur  axin  questions.  Yer  wanter  know 
where  that  there  pie  is  ?  Well,  I'll  tell  yer.  That 
there  pie  sir  — and  remember  I'm  on  my  oath  ; 
the  evidence  you  shall  give  in  this  case  shall  be 
the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  an'  nothin'  but  the 
truth,  so  help  yer  bob  —  'cordin'  to  the  statoots 
made  and  purvided  —  that  there  pie,  sir,  is  de- 
voured— yes,  Mr.  Peters,  devoured.  I  admit 
sir,  that  I  devoured  that  pie,  but  surely  Mr. 
Peters,  yer  wouldn't  refuse  a  small  bite  like  that 
to  a  poor  hungry  boy  that  liaint  eaten  nothin' 
since  before  the  war." 

The  cook  started  back  in  astonishment,  his 
large  eyes  wide  open. 

"  Since  befo'  de  wah ! "  he  ejaculated. 

"  Yes  sir,  two  years  before  the  war." 


42  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

The  sailors,  who  had  been  looking  on,  burst 
into  a  roar  of  laughter. 

"  Look  yer  heah,  boy,"  said  the  cook,  shaking 
the  toasting  fork  at  Sam  ;  "yer  may  be  de  son 
or  de  nephew  ob  Dr.  Tanner,  de  man  what  has 
jest  fasted  forty  days  and  forty  nights  on  a  go- 
as-you-please  match,  but  I  don'  believe  yer  has 
fasted  dat  long.  If  yer  was  so  hungry  yer  might 
hab  taken  a  chunk  ob  pork  instead  ob  seizin'  on 
to  de  nicest  pie  in  de  galley.  I  'scuses  yer  dis 
time,  but  by  de  water-melons  ob  old  Tennesee, 
ef  I  cotches  yer  in  dat  galley  again  I'll  put  yer 
in  de  coppers,  and  put  de  lid  on.  Yer  heah  me. 
Put  a  pin  dar." 

So  saying,  old  Sted.  released  Sam  and  took 
his  way  to  the  galley. 

For  two  weeks  the  Star  of  the  Sea  had  favor- 
ing breezes,  but  on  reaching  the  equator  the 
wind  died  away  and  the  vessel  lay  becalmed. 

While  lying  on  the  equator  Neptune  came  on 
board  and  insisted  on  shaving  Dr.  Vandenhoffer, 
lawyer  Hopkins  and  Sam.  To  Roland  he  merely 
paid  his  respects,  but  the  young  commander  of 
the  Star  of  the  Sea  submitted  himself  to  Nep- 
tune's razor,  so  that  he  might  afterwards  be  able 
to  say  that  he  had  gone  through  the  usual  for- 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  43 

mal  ceremonies  incident  to  crossing  the  equator 
for  the  first  time. 

Dr.  Vandenhoffer,  it  was  discovered,  had  once 
crossed  the  equator  on  land,  but  this  fact  did 
not  gain  for  him  exemption  from  the  ceremony 
and  he  submitted  with  good  grace,  Neptune 
being  rather  polite  and  not  at  all  rough  in  his 
methods. 

On  the  second  night  after  reaching  the  equa- 
tor, and  while  the  vessel  still  lay  becalmed,  the 
second  lieutenant,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  first 
watch,  and  who  had  gone  aloft  with  a  night-glass 
to  look  for  a  breeze,  hailed  the  deck. 

"  On  deck,  there  !  " 

"  Ay,  ay,"  was  the  response  from  the  sailing 
master,  who  had  just  come  up  from  the  grand 
saloon,  where  he  had  been  listening,  with  others, 
to  Dr.  Vandenhoffer  playing  the  organ. 

"I see  a  fire." 

"Afire?" 

"  Yes :  By  heavens,  it  is  a  full  rigged  ship !  I 
see  her  spars.  The  flames  are  as  high  as  her 
main  yard ! " 

.*' All  hands  on  deck!"  shouted  the  sailing- 
master,  "  turn  up  the  watch  below, !  call  Cap- 
tain Ranger,  Sam, !  look  alive  there,  I  get  out 
the  boats ! " 


44  AMREKGK1S  ISLAND. 

Roland  rushed  on  deck,  followed  by  the  nat- 
uralist and  Lawyer  Hopkins. 

"What's  the  matter?"  he  asked. 

"  A  ship  on  fire,"  replied  the  sailing  master. 

"  God  help  them  I "  exclaimed  the  lawyer. 


AMBEKGKIS   ISLAND.  45 


CHAPTER   SIXTH. 

RESCUE  OF  THE  CHEW  OF  THE  BURNING  SHIP. 

It  was  indeed  too  true.  A  large  ship  was  on 
fire  not  more  than  a  mile  away. 

She  could  be  plainly  seen  from  the  deck,  for 
the  flames  were  now  bursting  out  all  over  her. 

O 

"  Now  then,"  shouted  the  sailing  master ; 
"  bear  a  hand  there :  are  you  ready  with  the 
boats  Mr.  Maguiness  ?  " 

"All  ready  sir.  The  longboat  and  launch  are 
lowered  and  the  others  ready  to  drop  from  the 
davits.  How  shall  they  be  manned  sir?  " 

"  Take  the  longboat  yourself  with  the  men  of 
your  watch  and  the  gunner.  Mr.  Macpherson 
will  you  take  four  men  of  the  second  watch  and 
start  away  in  the  launch?  the  boatswain  will 
accompany  you.  Start  away,  if  you  please: 
there  is  not  a  moment  to  be  lost  if  there  are  more 
people  in  that  ship  than  her  boats  will  carry." 

"Give  way  men,"  cried  Macpherson  and  Ma- 


46  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 


guiness,  simultaneously,  and  the  two  boats 
darted  away  from  the  side  of  the  Star  of  the  Sea 
in  ihe  direction  of  the  burning  ship. 

"  I  should  like  to  lend  a  hand  here  myself,*' 
said  Roland,  descending  from  the  main  rigging, 
having  been  aloft  to  look  at  the  burning  ship. 
"Have  the  gig  dropped  Mr.  Hardman.  I  will 
take  the  cook  and  carpenter  and  we  maybe  able 
to  give  some  assistance." 

"  All  right  sir." 

The  gig  was  dropped,  and  as  Roland  descend- 
ed to  her,  Sam  clambered  upon  the  rail  and 
said : 

"May  I  go  too,  sir?" 

"Certainly,"  said  Roland,  "jump  down." 

Sam  jumped  into  the  gig  and  away  she  sped 
over  the  heaving  swell,  propelled  by  the  lusty 
arms  of  the  cook  and  carpenter,  who  bent  to 
their  oars  with  a  will,  Sam  using  every  effort  to 
accelerate  her  speed  by  moving  his  body  forward 
with  every  stroke  of  the  oars  as  he  had  seen  the 
steerers  of  racing  boats  do. 

"  I  don't  see  any  boats  but  our  own,"  said 
Roland  as  they  neared  the  burning  ship. 

The  latter  now  presented  an  awful  spectacle. 
She  was  on  fire  from  her  stern  to  her  main  hatch. 
The  forward  part  of  the  vessel  was  yet  whole, 


AMBEKGRIS   ISLAND.  47 

but  the  fire  was  spreading  rapidly  to  her  bows. 
Dense  volumes  of  smoke  rose  above  the  flames 
which  reflected  back  the  glare  of  the  fire  upon 
the  sea  and  lighted  up  the  surrounding  ocean. 

The  large  boats  of  the  Star  of  the  Sea  were 
almost  under  the  bows  of  the  burning  ship,  and 
as  the  gig  came  up  it  was  seen  that  they  were 
taking  people  from  a  raft  and  out  of  the  water. 

When  the  gig  sped  up  to  the  raft,  all  the  peo- 
ple had  been  taken  from  it  except  one  man  who 
held  a  young  girl  in  his  arms. 

"All  right,"  he  cried,  " here's  another  boat. 
We'll  get  into  this  one." 

Roland  steered  the  gig  alongside  the  raft ;  the 
man  handed  the  girl  tenderly  on  board  to  him. 
Roland  sat  her  by  his  side  in  the  stern  sheets, " 
and  the  man  after  taking  a  look  at  the  burning 
vessel  got  into  the  boat  without  saying  a  word. 

"  Give  way  for  the  schooner,"  said  Roland. 

The  gig  was  headed  for  the  Star  of  the  Sea, 
which  was  burning  blue  lights  to  show  her  posi- 
tion to  the  returning  boats,  she  being  outside  of 
the  circle  of  light  caused  by  the  flames  from 
the  burning  ship. 

The  man  took  the  girl's  hand  tenderly  in  his 
own,  and  patting  it,  said  — 


48  AMBEKGRIS   ISLAND. 

"  I  know  you're  not  frightened  —  you  haven't 
been  hurt  any  in  the  rush  and  hurry?  " 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  the  girl  in  a  musical  voice  , 
"  I'm  all  right.  A  little  singed,  perhaps.1' 

"  Yes,"  said  the  man,  "it  was  a  trying  time 
while  it  lasted.'' 

"  I  should  think  yer  had  bin  havin1  a  red  hot 
time,"  said  Sam. 

"  Sam  !  "  said  Roland. 

"  Yes  sir." 

"  Wait  till  you're  spoken  to  before  you  speak." 

"  Yes  sir.  Couldn't  help  it  sir  .  it  would  come 
out.  I  beg  your  parding,  mister.'* 

"Certainly,  certainly  my  boy,"  answered  the 
man  while  the  girl  actually  laughed.  "  It  was 
a  good  joke,"  added  the  man  laughing  himself ; 
"for  we've  just  had  a  red  hot  time,  the  hottest 
time  I  ever  had  at  sea  and  I  thought  it  was  go- 
ing to  be  followed  by  a  cold  time  until  I  saw 
your  boats  coming  up.  I  never  in  my  life  saw 
a  sight  that  gave  me  so  much  joy  as  the  sight  of 
your  boats  coming  out  of  the  darkness  into  the 
light  made  by  our  fire  —  not  so  much  on  my  own 
account,  for  a  seaman  must  stand  his  chances, 
but  on  account  of  my  little  girl  here.  I  tell  you 
honestly,  sir,  that  I'm  mighty  glad  you  came 


AMBEEGKIS   ISLAND.  49 


along  so  handy  and  mighty  thankful  for  your 
timely  help." 

"  Don't  speak  of  it,"  said  Roland,  "  we  are  only 
too  glad  that  we  were  in  time.  Did  any  boats 
leave  your  ship  ?  " 

"  We  hadn't  a  blessed  boat.  Lost  every  one 
in  a  hurricane  three  weeks  ago,  and  every 
blessed  bit  of  plank  that  we  could  build  another 
with  also.  By  means  of  empty  water  casks,  the 
hatches  and  the  planks  of  the  forward  house, 
which  we  demolished,  we  managed  to  construct 
a  raft,  but  that  wouldn't  have  held  together 
long.  What  are  you  ?  a  man  of  war  ?  I  see  the 
name  Star  of  the  Sea  on  your  caps.  Are  you 
English  or  American  ?  " 

"  We  are  not  a  man-of-war  —  a  private  vessel 
and  an  American." 

"  A  yacht  I  suppose  ;  but  it  ain't  often  you 
see  a  yacht  on  the  equator." 

"  I  suppose  not,"  answed  Roland,  "  but  we  are 
on  a  mission  which  I  will  explain  to  you. when 
we  get  on  board  and  you  have  had  some  re- 
freshment." 

"  Who  is  your  commander  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Roland,  smiling,  "  lam  the  com- 
mander." 

"  Then  allow  me  to  thank  you  again  for  your 


50  AMEEEGB1S  ISLAND. 


timely  assistance.  I  thought  that  you  were  a 
midshipman  sent  in  charge  of  a  boat.  Excuse 
me  !  my  name  is  Jack  Bracebridge,  Captain  Jack 
Bracebridge,  and  the  ship  you  see  burning  was 
the  Clara  Ranger,  owned  by  Roland  Ranger  the 
rich  Philadelphia  ship  owner." 

"  The  Clara  Ranger!"  ejaculated  Roland. 

At  this  moment  the  gig  shot  alongside  of  the 
Star  of  the  Sea  and  there  was  no  opportunity  for 
further  conversation. 


AMBERGRIS  ISLAND.  51 


CHAPTER  SEVENTH. 

CAPTAIN  BRACEBRIDGE  AND  HIS  DAUGHTER. 

'The  sailing  master  had  already  seen  the  offi- 
cers and  crew  of  the  Clara  Ranger  comfortably 
bestowed,  for  there  was  plenty  of  room  in  the 
.Star  of  the  Sea  ;  she  had  not  been  built  for  car- 
rying freight,  but  for  a  pleasure  yacht. 

Captain  Bracebridge  and  his  daughter,  Ro- 
land conducted  to  his  own  cabin,  and  having  told 
Sam  to  bring  some  wine,  said  — 

"Captain  Bracebridge,  1  will  introduce  my- 
self immediately.  Before  I  do  so  you  must  re- 
fresh yourself  with  some  wine  or  anything  else 
you  may  desire.  The  cook  will  shortly  have 
more  substantial  refreshment  prepared." 

"  I  should  like  a  glass  of  sherry  for  Fanny  — 
this  is  my  daughter,  Fanny  Bracebridge,"  — 
Roland  bowed  —  "  but  for  myself  I  would  like, 
if  it's  all  the  same,  a  stiff  tumbler  of  grog." 

"  By  all  means,"  said  Roland  touching  a  bell 


52  AMBEEGEIS  ISLAND. 

which  stood  on  the  cabin  table  and  which  imme- 
diately brought  Steadfast  Peters. 

"Sted.,"  said  Roland;  "when  Sam  has 
brought  the  wine,  get  him  to  assist  you  in  pre- 
paring some  food  for  the  cabin  ;  something  nice, 
you  understand." 

"  Yes  sah,  I  has  already  begun  to  decant  de 
refreshment." 

"  Ah !  you  have  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sah ;  I  has  jest  decanted  some  boneless 
chicken  fo'  de  young  lady,  and  some  peaches, 
and  I  wuz  jest  a  gwine  to  open  a  can  ob  bone- 
less turkey  fo'  de  gen'leman  and  yo'self  when  de 
bell  went." 

"  You  are  a  jewel,  Sted.,  but  before  you  go 
any  farther,  I  want  you  to  mix  a  tumbler  of  grog 
for  the  gentleman." 

"Yes  sah." 

"  You  are  a  good  hand  at  that  ?  " 

"  De  kepting  kin  judge  when  I  get  froo." 

"  All  right,"  said  Roland  ;  "  here's  Sam  with 
the  wine." 

The  cook  withdrew  as  Sam  entered  with  a  de- 
canter in  each  hand. 

"  What  did  you  bring  Sam  ?  I  forgot  to  tell 
you." 

"  Mr.  Hardman,  sir,  told  me  to  bring  yer  port 


AMBEBGRIS  ISLAND.  53 

and  sherry.     I  axed  'im." 

"  Nothing  goes  wrong  here,  I  see,"  said  Cap- 
tain Bracebridge  smiling ; "  your  men  and  boys 
seem  to  know  just  what  you  want." 

"  I  am  proud  to  say,"  said  Roland,  casting  a 
glance  at  Fanny  Bracebridge,  who  was  sipping 
a  glass  of  sherry  which  her  father  had  poured 
out  for  her ;  "that  a  vessel  was  never  better 
manned  than  the  Star  of  the  Sea." 

"What  a  pretty  name,"  said  Miss  Brace- 
bridge. 

"  It  is  a  pretty  name,"  said  Captain  Brace- 
bridge  ;  I  don't  know  where  you  got  hold  of  it, 
but  it  recalls  an  old  friend  to  my  memory." 

"  Indeed,"  said  Roland,  with  some  anxiety  in 
his  look  and  tone. 

41  Yes,"  said  the  Captain,  musingly  ;  "  a  dash- 
ing young  fellow,  and  bless  me  you  are  his  very 
image,  now  I  take  a  look  at  you  in  the  light ; 
his  name  was  Ralph  Ranger.  The  Star  of  the 
Sea  is  what  he  used  to  call  his  wife  when  he  was 
at  sea.  He  saw  her  eyes  in  every  star." 

A  tear  shone  in  Roland's  eye  and  his  lips 
quivered. 

"  Ralph  Ranger,"  he  said ;  "was  he  a  friend 
of  yours?" 

"  Ay,  poor  fellow.     We  were  chums.     Mates 


54  AMEEEGB1S  ISLAND. 

from  our  youth  upward.  I  was  the  "  best  man  " 
at  his  wedding  when  he  married  Clara  Star- 
leigh." 

The  cook  at  this  moment  appeared  with  the 
grog,  and  while  Captain  was  drinking  it,  Roland 
succeeded  in  controlling  his  emotion  arising 
from  the  mention  of  the  two  who  were  so  dear 
to  him  —  the  one  a  memory,  the  other  a  loved 
and  loving  reality. 

"Ah!"  said  the  Captain,  drawing  a  long 
breath  and  smacking  his  lips,  "your  cook  is  a 
jewel.  If  he  ever  wants  a  certificate  of  charac- 
ter let  him  come  to  me." 

u  Now,"  said  Roland,  "  with  your  permission 
I  will  introduce  myself.  You  say  your  ship  was 
called  the  Clara  Ranger.  I  know  that  ship; 
she  was  built  three  years  ago  and  this  is  her  first 
voyage.  She  was  named  after  my  mother." 

"  What  ?  "  said  Captain  Bracebridge,  starting 
up ;  "  named  after  your  mother  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir ;  my  mother  is  Clara  Ranger." 

"  And  your  father  was  Ralph  Ranger?  " 

"My  father  is  Ralph  Ranger,  I  hope." 

"What!  is  he  alive?" 

"  I  hope  so.  That's  what  I'm  going  to  try  to 
find  out." 

"  Why,  my  dear  boy,"  said  Captain  Brace- 


AMBERGRIS  ISLAND.  55 

bridge,  shaking  Roland's  hand;  "how  proud  I 
am  to  see  you !  And  to  think  that  you  should 
have  rescued  ray  crew  and  my  Fanny  to  say 
nothing  of  myself,  your  father's  old  friend  — 
Fanny,  my  girl,  did  you  ever  hear  the  like  ?  " 

"It  does  seem  so  strange,"  said  Fanny  with  a 
charming  smile,  "  but  then  it  is  so  much  the 
more  pleasant  to  think  we  have  been  rescued 
by  the  son  of  your  old  friend." 

"It  beats  me,"  said  Captain  Bracebridge,  as  he 
gazed  at  Roland ;  "it  beats  me.  Why  to  think 
of  it.  Here  I  was  wondering  whether  I  was  be- 
ing rescued  by  an  English  or  an  American  man- 
of-war —  the  Star  of  the  Sea  —  and  it  turns  out 
that  I  am  rescued  by  the  son  of  my  old  friend, 
by  the  boy  that  I  have  often  danced  upon  my 
knee,"  and  to  stifle  his  emotion  the  Captain 
drained  his  tumbler  of  grog,  murmuring  — 

"  It  beats  me  !  It  beats  me ! " 

Roland  had  by  this  time  ample  opportunity 
to  take  a  survey  of  the  appearance  of  Fanny 
Bracebridge. 

She  was  a  lovely  girl  of  about  seventeen,  with 
hair  black  as  the  raven's  wing  and  glossy  as 
satin.  Her  cheeks  presented  a  beautiful  blend- 
ing of  the  lily  and  rose  and  her  eyes  were  bright 
and  sparkling.  Her  face  was  oval  and  the  fea- 


56  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

tures  perfect,  except  that  her  mouth  was  a  little 
large.  But  a  pair  of  cherry  lips  which  when 
parted,  revealed  a  set  of  beautiful  white  teeth, 
only  lent  to  this  departure  from  the  regularity 
of  feature  an  addi  tional  charm.  She  was  in  truth 
a  beautiful  creature. 

Her  form  was  yet  girlish,  but  its  outlines, 
which  were  rendered  apparent  by  the  style  of 
dress  she  wore,  gave  ample  promise  of  future 
perfection. 

She  was  dressed  in  a  wrapper  of  heavy  cash- 
mere which  was  drawn  around  the  waist  with 
cord  and  tassels,  and  had  on  her  head  a  turkish 
cap  of  the  same  material,  from  which  also  de- 
pended a  tassel. 

It  was  a  somewhat  strange  garb  for  a  young 
lady,  but  eminently  fit  for  the  sea. 

She  had  evidently  been  lying  down  when  the 
fire  was  discovered  and  had  not  had  an  opportu- 
nity to  don  other  garments. 

The  quick  eye  of  Roland  took  in  these  partic- 
ulars from  time  to  time  as  he  glanced  at  her, 
and  his  conclusion  mentally  was  — 

"  I  never  saw  anything  like  her." 

"  What  was  that  you  said  about  your  father  ?" 
asked  Captain  Bracebridge ;  "has  anything  been 
discovered  about  him?" 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  57 


"  Nothing.  I  believe  he  is  alive  ;  that  is  all ; 
and  I  am  going  in  search  of  him." 

"  What  leads  you  to  believe  that  he  is  alive?" 

"  It  is  too  long  a  story  to  tell  you  now.  Here 
is  old  Sted.  with  something  to  eat.  I  will  ex- 
plain to-morrow." 

The  cook  and  Sam  both  entered  at  this  mo- 
ment each  bearing  a  tray  containing  the  dishes 
and  viands  for  supper. 

Old  Sted.  speedily  set  out  the  table,  and  great 
was  Fanny's  surprise  when  on  taking  her  seat  she 
found  that  the  meal  included  besides  the  canned 
boneless  chicken  and  turkey  and  peaches  of 
which  the  cook  had  spoken,  jellies,  jams  and 
other  dainties  and  a  delicious  dish  of  ice  cream. 

"Ice  cream  on  the  equator  ?  "  she  said,  throw- 
ing a  sweet  glance  at  the  cook. 

"  Yes,  Miss ;  ef  we  had  had  mo'  eggs  I  should 
hab  made  de  kepting  a  dish  too,  but  de  hens  hab 
gub  out  laying  since  de  calm  set  in." 

At  a  sign  from  Roland,  Sam  took  his  place 
behind  Miss  Bracebridge's  chair  and  served  her 
as  unobtrusively  and  as  promptly  as  if  he  had 
been  educated  as  a  waiter. 

"What  is  your  vessel  ?  "  asked  Captain  Brace- 
bridge,  addressing  Roland. 


58  AMBERGK1S   ISLAND. 

"  She  was  built  for  a  yacht,  and  has  only  been 
slightly  altered.  Had  her  bulwarks  heightened, 
a  deck  galley  and  a  forward  house  built,  ports 
made  for  guns — we  carry  five  guns  —  and 
some  other  little  alterations.  You  will  call  her 
a  beauty  when  you  have  examined  her." 

"Where  did  you  get  her?  " 

"  I  bought  her.  She  was  built  for  a  million- 
aire who  lost  his  millions  and  left  her  on  the 
builder's  hands.  Paid  cash  for  her.  She  cost 
me,  after  her  interior  was  fitted  up,  eighty-five 
thousand  dollars.  My  grand-uncle,  Roland 
Ranger,  your  employer,  gave  me  the  money." 

"  Just  like  him,1'  was  the  sententious  remark 
of  Captain  Bracebridge. 

"  God  bless  him,"  said  Roland  fervently ;  "he 
has  enabled  me  to  carry  out  the  one  wish  of  my 
life  :  to  go  in  search  of  my  father." 

"  Then  you  are  bound  for  the  South  Pacific?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  That  was  where  your  father  was  heard  of 
last?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Well  it  beats  me  —  that's  all.  I  can't  un- 
derstand it.  And  now,  look  here  !  I  am  too 
excited  to  go  to  sleep  just  at  present,  and  I  dare 
say  Fanny  is  the  same.  Why  not  gratify  our 


AMBEEGEIS  ISLAND.  59 

curiosity  and  let  us  know  all  about  this  matter. 
Don't  you  think  he  ought  to,  Fanny?  " 

"  I  am  anxious  to  know  all  about  it  of  course," 
said  Fanny,  with  a  flash  of  her  radiant  eyes  in 
Roland's  direction,  "but  if  Mr.  Ranger  is  unwil- 
ling to  let  us  know  his  affairs  at  present,  why 
then  we  must  wait  until  he  is  ready." 

"  I  was  only  afraid  that  I  would  weary  you  if 
I  began  my  explanation  now,"  said  Roland  apol- 
ogetically, "but  if  you  think  —  " 

"Certainly,  my  boy,"  said  Captain  Brace- 
bridge. 

"  O,  do  tell  my  father  and  me  all  about  it, 
please,"  said  Fanny,  in  a  voice  so  musical  and 
with  an  air  so  charming  that  Roland  felt  like 
kneeling  at  her  feet  at  once  and  assuring  her  that 
he  would  do  anything  for  her  sake. 

Thereupon  he  began  and  unfolded  his  theory 
as  it  has  already  been  given,  and  followed  it  up 
with  a  history  of  all  else  that  had  taken  place. 

"  By  the  man  that  made  lanterns  !  "  exclaim- 
ed Captain  Bracebridge,  smiting  his  hand  upon 
the  table  when  Roland  ,had  finished,  "you  are 
right !  your  father  is  alive ;  the  ambergris 
island  is  a  fact,  for  I  have  smelt  it !  " 

"  You  have  smelt  it  ?  "  exclaimed  Roland. 

"  Yes,  sir ;  been  within  twenty  miles  of  it, 


60  AMBEKGKIS  ISLAND. 

would  have  tried  to  land  upon  it  only  I  had 
Fanny  on  board  and  I  was  afraid  of  the  bad  luck 
that  comes  from  seeking  it.'* 

"That  is  the  truth;"  said  Fanny;  "for  my 
father  afterwards  told  me  that  he  might  have 
taken  the  chances  of  making  himself  a  rich  man 
or  losing  his  life,  if  I  had  not  been  on  board." 

"  Then  the  old  whalers  told  me  no  yarn,"  said 
Roland  exultingly;  "and  my  theory  receives 
fresh  strength  from  your  experience." 

At  this  moment  the  vessel  began  to  careen 
slightly. 

"We  are  getting  a  breeze  at  last,"  said  Ro- 
land. 

"  Yes,"  said  Captain  Bracebridge,  as  he  looked 
at  the  compass  set  into  the  table,  "  you  have 
drifted  into  the  south  east  trades." 

"But  you  haven't  yet  told  me  how  your  ship 
got  afire,"  said  Roland. 

"  That's  true,"  said  the  Captain :  "  I  must 
tell  you  about  that  — " 

Just  then  came  to  their  ears  the  cry  — 

"  Sail  ho  !  " 

"  A  sail,"  said  Captain  Bracebridge  ;  "then 
we  will  go  on  deck  and  take  a  last  look  at  the 
burning  ship,  if  she  is  not  already  gone,  and  also 
see  what  this  stranger  is  like." 


AMBEKGRIS  ISLAND.  61 


CHAPTER  EIGHTH. 

A  LUCKY    MEETING. 

When  Roland  reached  the  deck  he  found  the 
Star  of  the  Sea  speeding  along  on  the  larboard 
tack,  close  hauled,  under  a  spanking  breeze 
which  laid  her  lee  side  well  down  in  the  water. 

The  burning  ship  had  disappeared. 

"Where  is  the  sail?"  asked  Roland,  address- 
ing the  first  lieutenant,  who  was  in  charge  of 
the  second  watch  which  was  now  on  duty. 

"  Dead  ahead,  sir,"  was  the  reply,  "and  almost 
within  speaking  distance,  we  are  just  preparing 
to  burn  a  blue  light." 

At  that  instant  a  blue  light  appeared  in  the 
rigging  of  the  approaching  vessel. 

It  was  immediately  answered  on  board  of  the 
Star  of  the  Sea. 

The  approaching  vessel,  a  barque,  hauled  up 
and  threw  her  mainsail  aback,  and  the  Star  of 
the  Sea  lowered  her  main  peak  halliards  and 
hauling  down  her  jibs  lay  to  under  her  foresail 
and  forestay  sail. 


62  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

Both  vessels  lay  to  within  a  couple  of  hun- 
dred feet  of  each  other. 

"What  ship  is  that?"  hailed  the  stranger 
through  his  speaking  trumpet. 

"  The  Star  of  the  Sea,  from  Boston,  for  —  for 
—  where  shall  I  say  sir  ?  "  said  the  first  lieuten- 
ant, addressing  Roland. 

"  For  the  straits  of  Le  Maire,"  said  Captain 
Bracebridge,  who  had  accompanied  Roland  on 
deck  :  "  that's  near  enough." 

"For  the  straits  of  Le  Maire,"  continued 
Macpherson  ;  "  what  ship  is  that?  " 

"  The  Flying  Spray,  from  Calcutta,"  was  the 
reply. 

"  Where  bound?  "  bawled  Macpherson. 

"  Galveston,  Texas,"  was  the  answer. 

"  We  will  send  a  boat  aboard,"  shouted  Mac- 
pherson. "  Here  is  a  chance  sir,"  he  said,  turn- 
ing to  Roland,  "  of  sending  that  crew  home." 

"The  very  thing,"  said  Roland,  "if  they  are 
willing  to  take  them.  Lower  away  the  gig,  and 
I  will  go  on  board  myself." 

Roland  went  on  board  of  the  Flying  Spray, 
explained  how  he  had  rescued  the  crew  of  the 
burning  ship  and  the  peculiar  mission  on  which 
he  was  bound,  winding  up  by  requesting  the 


AMBERGEIS  ISLAND.  63 

Captain  of  the  Flying  Spray  to  take  the  res- 
cued crew  to  Galveston. 

"  You  can  perceive,"  he  said  in  conclusion, 
"  how  inconvenient  it  would  be  for  me  to  touch 
at  a  South  American  port  to  land  this  crew." 

"  Of  course,"  said  Captain  Ellsworth  of  the 
Flying  Spray ;  "  I  shall  take  the  crew  gladly 
and  I  wish  you  the  most  complete  success  in 
carrying  out  your  expedition.  What  did  you 
say  your  name  was  ?  " 

"  Roland  Ranger." 

"  Why  bless  my  soul,  that's  the  name  of  the 
owner  of  the  Flying  Spray.  Is  old  Roland 
Ranger  any  relation  of  yours?  " 

"  He  is  my  uncle,  and  the  man  who  furnished 
the  means  of  sending  out  this  expedition." 

"  That's  better  and  better  —  I  will  send  my 
boats  for  the  crew.  What  did  you  say  the  name 
of  the  captain  of  the  burned  ship  was?  " 

"  Jack  Bracebridge." 

"  I  have  never  met  him,  but  I  have  heard  of 
him.  Both  him  and  his  daughter  shall  have  the 
best  of  treatment  on  board  of  this  ship  and  his 
crew  as  well.  I  am  glad  to  oblige  you  in  this. 
I  will  let  your  uncle  know  how  prosperously 
you  are  speeding  when  I  reach  home." 

When  Roland  returned  on  board  of  the  Star 


64  AMBEBGEIS   ISLAND. 


of  the  Sea  he  found  that  Captain  Bracebridge 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  run  the  ohances  of 
meeting  with  another  ship,  not  wishing  to  im- 
pose too  large  a  company  on  the  hospitality  of 
Captain  Ellsworth. 

"  We're  right  in  the  track  of  navigation,"  said 
he  ;  "  and  may  meet  half  a  score  of  ships  in 
twenty-four  hours.  I  will  await  the  next 
chance." 

So  the  Captain  and  his  daughter  remained  on 
board  the  Star  of  the  Sea,  while  his  crew  and 
officers  were  transferred  to  the  Flying  Spray. 

The  first  mate  of  the  Clara  Ranger,  was  how- 
ever, charged  with  the  duty  of  furnishing  all  in- 
formation relative  to  the  burning  of  the  vessel 
and  the  rescue  of  her  crew,  should  he  reach 
Philadelphia  before  Captain  Bracebridge. 

These  arrangements  having  been  concluded 
the  ships  parted  company  and  the  Star  of  the 
Sea  hauled  away  to  the  south  west  under  a 
breeze  that  laid  her  lee  side  well  down  in  the 
water,  though  the  gaff-topsails  were  furled. 

When  Roland  and  Captain  Bracebridge  re- 
turned to  the  cabin,  they  found  Fanny  peace- 
fully sleeping  on  one  of  the  luxurious  lounges 
with  which  the  apartment  was  furnished. 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  65 

"I  must  rouse  her  and  get  her  to  bed,"  said 
the  Captain. 

"  She  ought  to  have  been  shown  to  a  state- 
room before,"  said  Roland  ;  u  it  is  a  pity  to  dis- 
turb her  now  that  she  is  asleep.  Let  her  lie  and 
I  will  get  some  covering  for  her." 

He  opened  a  door  into  an  adjoining  stateroom 
and  drew  forth  several  bright  hued  coverlets, 
which  he  handed  to  Captain  Bracebridge,  who 
spread  them  tenderly  over  his  sleeping  daughter. 

"She  is  a  sailor,"  said  the  Captain,  as  he 
smoothed  a  stray  curl  of  hair  on  the  pillow  on 
the  lounge.  "  Her  mother  died  when  she  was 
but  an  infant  and  she  has  sailed  with  me  ever 
since.  Instead  of  leaving  her  on  shore  for  her 
education,  I  hired  governesses  to  sail  with  us, 
and  she  is  as  well  educated  as  if  she  had  been 
brought  up  in  a  young  ladies  seminary.  She  is 
as  fond  of  the  sea  as  if  she  belonged  to  it  and 
would  rather  sail  with  me  than  stay  on  shore." 

The  Captain  stooped  and  softly  kissed  the 
young  girl's  brow  ;  then  he  and  Roland  ascended 
to  the  deck. 

Sam  Seabury  and  Steadfast  Peters  were  sit- 
ting under  the  lee  of  the  weather  bulwarks  talk- 
ing over  the  stirring  events  of  the  night. 

"She's  a  stunner,  that  there  gal,"  said  Sam, 


66  AMBERGKIS  ISLAND. 

tlie  conversation  having  turned  upon  Miss 
Bracebridge. 

"  She  am  dat,  fo'  shuah.  'Pears  to  me  she 
would  jest  suit  Massa  Ranger,"  observed  the 
cook. 

"  I  s'pose  she  ain't  got  no  mother,"  said  Sam 
ignoring  the  cook's  remark.  He  was  smitten 
with  Miss  Bracebridge  himself.  Boys  of  four- 
teen are  very  apt  to  fall  in  love  with  girls  who 
are  just  entering  womanhood. 

"I  s'pose  not,"  responded  Sted.,  "an1  dats 
why  she  sails  wid  de  ole  man,  her  farder.  Is 
your  parents  alive  Sam  ?" 

"  No  ;  they  must  have  died  when  I  was  a  lit- 
tle shaver.  I  never  had  none  that  I  remembers 
of,  'cept  a  step-mother ;  that  was  the  woman 
what  took  care  of  me?  " 

"  How  do  you  know  she  wuz  your  step-mud- 
der?" 

"  Cause  she  stepped  out  an'  left  me  to  take 
care  of  myself  when  I  wuz  ten  years  old.  Went 
off  with  a  man  what  mended  umbarellera  an' 
wash  boilers." 

"  So  you  call  her  your  step-mudder  because 
she  stepped  out?"' 

"  Yes,  siree,  'cordiir  to  the  statoots  made  an' 
purvided." 


AMBERGRIS  ISLAND.  67 


The  vessel  at  this  moment  shipped  a  sea 
which  drenched  the  cook  and  Sam  with  spray 
and  caused  them  to  hurry  below  to  their  berths. 


68  AMREKGR1S  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER   NINTH. 

CAPTAIN   BRACEBRIDGE   AND   FANNY  JOIN  THE 
EXPEDITION. 

Contrary  to  expectation,  the  Star  of  the  Sea 
met  no  other  vessel  in  her  progress  towards 
Cape  Horn. 

"I'm  thinking,  we'll  have  to  stay  with  you," 
said  Captain  Braeebridge  to  Roland,  as  the 
schooner  drew  up  to  the  straits  of  Le  Maire. 

"I  should  be  very  glad  if  it  should  turn  out 
so,"  said  Roland. 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth,"  rejoined  the  Cap- 
tain ;  "  nothing  would  give  me  more  satisfaction. 
I  should  like  to  visit  the  ambergris  island  and 
if  your  father  is  there  I  should  be  glad  to  be  one 
of  the  party  rescuing  him  from  his  long  impris- 
onment." 

"  Why  not  accompany  us  whether  we  meet  a 
vessel  or  not,"  asked  Roland. 

"  The  only  objection  is  that  I  ought  to  return 
to  the  states  as  speedily  as  possible  to  give  the 


AMBEKGRIS  ISLAND.  G9 

particulars  of  the  burning  of  the  Clara  Ranger." 

"  The  first  mate  can  do  that.  You  are  ac- 
countable only  to  my  uncle  Roland,  and  I'm 
sure  if  he  were  here  to  advise  you  he  would  say 
go  with  us." 

"I  should  like  to  accompany  this  expedition," 
said  Fanny,  who  was  within  hearing  of  what 
had  been  said. 

"  Then  that  settles  it,"  said  Captain  Brace- 
bridge  ;  "  we  will  share  your  cruise.  There  is 
only  one  difficulty  about  the  matter  as  far 
as  you  are  concerned,  Fanny,  and  that  is,  you 
have  no  dresses  except  what  you  stand  in." 

"  That  difficulty  can  easily  be  got  over,"  said 
Roland  eagerly ;  "  as  you  have  noticed,  our 
grand  saloon  is  fitted  up  with  a  stage  and 
scenery  for  amateur  theatricals.  I  thought  that 
occasional  entertainments  of  this  kind  would 
serve  to  amuse  us  when  we  began  to  feel  the 
tedium  of  the  voyage.  For  these  theatricals  I 
purchased  a  variety  of  costumes,  and  among 
them  are  at  least  a  dozen  of  ladies'  dresses,  de- 
signed for  those  assuming  the  female  parts. 
These  dresses  Miss  Bracebridge  can  alter  to  suit 
herself,  for  we  have  plenty  of  material  for  cut- 
ting and  making  on  board,  including  a  new 


70  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

Singer  sewing  machine,  which  is  furnished  with 
all  the  attachments." 

Fanny's  eyes  sparkled  with  pleasure  at  this 
information.  She  thanked  Roland  for  his  offer 
of  the  dresses,  but  said  she  could  no  doubt  get 
along  with  one  or  two  from  the  lot. 

"  You  shall  have  them  all,"  said  Roland ; 
"and  when  we  get  up  our  theatricals  you  can 
play  the  ladies'  parts.  If  you  like  we  will  go  to 
the  grand  saloon  and  I  will  have  much  pleasure 
in  transferring  all  the  feminine  finery  to  your 
keeping." 

They  went  below  and  Fanny  was  soon  deeply 
interested  in  the  examination  of  the  dresses. 
They  wrere  very  rich,  of  course,  and  unsuited 
for  sea  wear,  being  designed  for  the  parts  of 
queens,  princesses,  and  ladies  of  high  degree, 
but  they  were  better  than  nothing,  and  would 
enable  Fanny  to  appear  in  the  garb  suited  to  her 
sex  if  the  voyage  should  last  for  years. 

"  Why,"  she  exclaimed,  as  he  held  up  a  rich 
crimson  satin,  elaborately  trimmed  ;  "  I  shall  be 
costumed  like  a  princess." 

"Well,"  said  Roland,  gallantly;  "that  will 
be  quite  appropriate,  for  you  are  the  queen  of 
our  little  community. 

Fanny  blushed,  and  cast  down  her  eyes. 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  71 

"  I  am  so  glad  you  are  going  to  accompany 
us,"  said  Roland. 

"Are  you?"  said  she,  as  she  shook  another 
dress  from  its  folds. 

"  Indeed  I  am,"  said  he  ;  "  if  I  hadn't  seen  you, 
of  course,  I  shouldn't  have  cared  about  the  mat- 
ter, but  since  you  have  come  on  board  and  I 
have  got  acquainted  with  you,  I  should  hate  now 
to  have  you  leave  us." 

"Us?" 

"  I  mean  the  ship." 

"O!" 

"  Of  course,  I  only  speak  for  myself,  but 
everybody  is  glad  to  have  you  on  board :  the 
men  think  you  will  bring  us  good  luck." 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  I  was  dreading  that  they 
would  think  me  quite  a  bother." 

"  Ah !  you  could  never  be  a  bother  to  any 
one." 

Fanny  laughed  and  gave  Roland  an  arch 
glance. 

"  The  governesses  who  used  to  sail  with  us 
when  I  was  a  girl  —  a  little  girl  I  mean,  would 
tell  you  different,"  said  she,  "  and  perhaps  you 
will  share  their  opinion  when  we  become  better 
acquainted.  But  there  !  I'm  really  much  obliged 


72  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

to  you  for  these  dresses;  with  a  little  alteration 
they  will  suit  me  perfectly." 

"They  will.  That  crimson  satin  will  become 
your  beauty." 

"My  beauty,"  said  Fanny,  as  she  blushed 
again. 

"Yes,"  said  Roland  gravely,  "I  think  you 
are  very  beautiful.  You  are  the  most  beautiful 
girl  I  ever  saw  in  my  life,"  he  added  with  much 
earnestness. 

Fanny  looked  up  at  Roland's  earnest  face  and 
seeing  that  he  Lad  spoken  in  all  sincerity, 
said  — 

"  Thank  you  for  the  compliment.  I  am  glad 
you  like  my  appearance  —  but  let  us  talk  of 
something  else." 

"I  suppose  you  have  lived  very  little  on 
shore,"  said  Roland. 

"  Not  more  than  a  month  or  two  at  a  time." 

"  But  in  a  month  or  two  one  could  form  a 
great  many  acquaintances." 

"  O  yes ;  I  have  lots  of  friends  on  shore. 
Young  lady  friends  and  young  gentlemen  friends, 
too." 

"Indeed!" 

Somehow  Roland  did. not  seem  to  relish  the 
last  clause  of  his  information. 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  73 

Fanny  looked  up  and  laughed. 

"  I  suppose  you  are  wondering,"  said  she, 
"  Avhether  I've  got  any  sweethearts." 

"  Well,"  said  Roland  smiling,  "that  was  just 
my  thought." 

"Well,  then  I  haven't.  Father  and  I  sail  to- 
gether ;  he's  captain  and  I'm  his  first  mate." 

"I  wish  that  I  had  such  a  first  mate,"  said 
Roland  impulsively. 

"O,  I  suppose  you  have.  Some  Boston  young 
lady  to  whom  you  vowed  eternal  fidelity, 
as  they  say  in  books,  before  you  sailed  away." 

"  No,"  said  Roland,  "I  have  never  had  a  young 
lady  acquaintance  since  I  left  the  grammar 
school." 

"  At  the  grammar  school  you  had  plenty  of 
girl  acquaintances,  I  suppose,"  said  Fanny 
laughing.  . 

"  O,  yes,"  laughed  Roland  ;  ulots  of  them." 

"  And  I  suppose  you  were  often  desperately 
in  love." 

"No,  I  never  was  in  love  in  my  life  —  un- 
til — " 

"Well?" 

"I'm  afraid  of  offending  you  or  I  would  tell 
you." 


74  AMBEEGEIS  ISLAND. 

"  What  have  I  got  to  do  with  it? " 

"  A  great  deal — for  it  is  —  that  is  to  say  I 
never  was  in  love  until  now  and  I  am  in  love — " 

"  Land  ho !  "  shouted  Sam,  putting  his  head 
in  at  the  door  of  the  saloon,  "  land  ho  !  and 
Kepting  Bracebridge  says  it  is  the  coast  of 
Terrer  Belphegor." 

Roland  liked  Sam  very  much,  but  at  that 
moment  he  felt  as  if  he  could  have  given  him  a 
cuffing. 

Fanny  burst  into  a  peal  of  laughter. 

"  Terrer  Belphegor?  "  she  exclaimed.  "  You 
mean  Terra  del  Fuego." 

"  Its  land  anyhow,"  said  Sam  ,  "  and  it  ain't 
a  unwelcome  sight  nuther,"  so  saying  he  disap- 
peared. 

"Some  other  time,"  said  Roland,  as  he  left 
the  saloon  with  Fanny  to  go  on  deck,  "some 
other  time  I  will  tell  you  what  I  was  going  to 
say." 

"O,"  said  Fanny  with  a  laugh  ;  "we  mustn't 
have  any  more  such  conversations.  We  can 
find  something  more  interesting  to  talk  about." 

But  she  thought  differently. 

When  they  reached  the  deck  land  was  plainly 
seen  in  the  distance* 


AMBEKGK1S   ISLAND.  75 

It  was  the  coast  of  Terra  Del  Fuego,  and  a  few 
days  later  the  Star  of  the  Sea  was  beating  to  the 
westward  in  the  teeth  of  a  gale  in  a  gallant  ef 
fort  to  round  Cape  Horn. 


76  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER   TENTH. 

THE   SEA  SERPENT  —  A   SWIM   FOR   LIFE  AND  A 
FIGHT  WITH  A  SHARK. 

On  passing  Cape  Horn  the  vessel's  head  was 
laid  to  the  north  west,  and  for  many  days  she 
continued  on  this  course,  ploughing  the  waters 
of  the  South  Pacific. 

Roland  had  never  had  another  chance  of 
speaking  with  Fanny  alone.  She » avoided  pri- 
vate interviews  with  him.  But  she  was  not  less 
friendly  than  before. 

They  had  reached  the  longitude  of  120°  west 
and  the  latitude  of  20°  south,  and  the  vessel 
was  going  slowly  along  under  a  light  breeze. 

"There  is  something  to  windward  which  I 
have  noticed  for  an  hour  or  more,"  said  the  sail- 
ing master  to  Roland  ;  "  it  seems  like  a  large 
fish;  it  is  going  in  our  direction  and  keeps  the 
exact  speed  of  the  vessel.  Will  you  take  a  look 
at  it  ?  " 

The  sailing  master  handed  Roland  the  glass 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  77 

and  the  latter  applying  it  to  his  eye  examined 
the  object. 

"  It  is  a  large  fish,"  said  Roland  ;  "  and  it  is 
not  a  whale.  It  is  not  as  bulky  as  a  whale  and 
it  is  much  longer." 

"Do  you  believe  in  the  stories  of  the  sea  ser- 
pent," asked  the  sailing  master. 

"No,  I  do  not." 

"  Nor  I,  but,  if  I  did,  I  would  say  that  that 
was  one." 

Captain  Bracebridge  came  on  deck  at  this  mo- 
ment, accompanied  by  Fanny.  Being  informed 
of  what  had  arrested  the  attention  of  the  sailing 
master,  Captain  Bracebridge  took  the  glass  and 
gave  the  object  a  searching  examination. 

The  other  officers  had  now  drawn  near  and 
the  sailors  were  collected  in  a  group  forward, 
also  examining  the  fish  through  a  spy  glass 
which  they  passed  from  one  to  another. 

"By  the  man  that  made  lanterns  !  "  exclaimed 
Captain  Bracebridge,  as  he  looked  slowly  around 
upon  the  group  ;  "  it  is  the  sea  serpent !  " 

Dr.  Vandenhoffer  took  the  glass ;  there  was 
an  eagerness  in  the  naturalist's  eye  and  his  hand 
trembled  with  excitement  as  he  arranged  the , 
focus  of  the  instrument. 

"Eet  ees  de  sea  serpent !  exclaimed  the  nat- 


78  AMBEKGRIS   ISLAND. 

uralist ;  "  I  swear  to  him  — he  vas  beeg  —  beeg 
—  ver  beeg  —  one — two  —  tree  hundred  feet 
long." 

"  I  wonder  what  they've  all  bin  a-drinkin'," 
said  Sam  to  the  cook  with  whom  he  had  now  be- 
come great  friends. 

"  Ef  dat's  de  sea  sarpin ',"  said  the  cook  solemn- 
ly ;  "dars  no  jokin'  about  it.  He'll  gib  us  trub- 
bel  shuuh  ;  you  heah  me.  Put  a  pin  dar." 

"I  swear  to  him,"  repeated  the  naturalist, 
who  had  again  examined  the  fish,  "  eet  ees  de 
real  sea  serpent." 

Fanny  now  took  the  glass  and  in  her  eager- 
ness to  have  a  good  look  at  it  climbed  upon  the 
rail  and  held  on  with  one  hand  to  the  main  peak 
halliards  and  raised  the  glass  to  her  eye  with  the 
other. 

Just  as  she  got  it  within  the  focus  the  fish 
raised  its  head  out  of  the  water  and  the  sight  so 
frightened  her  that  she  let  go  her  hold  on  the 
halliards  to  jump  to  the  deck.  At  the  same  in- 
stant the  vessel  gave  a  heavy  roll  to  windward 
and  with  a  scream  she  fell  into  the  sea. 

"  Down  the  helm  !  Lower  away  the  gig  ! 
Let  go  your  sheets  !  Look  alive  !  " 

These  orders  the  sailing  master  gave  in  an  in- 


AMBEKGEIS  ISLAND.  79 

stant  and  almost  before  Fanny  touched  the 
water. 

The  vessel  obedient  to  the  helm  came  up  in 
the  wind  at  once,  but  not  before  Roland  who 
hastily  kicked  off  his  shoes  and  threw  off  his  hat 
had  sprung  upon  the  rail  and  jumped  after 
Fanny, 

Roland  had  scarcely  disappeared  before  Sam 
sprang  upon  the  taffrail  and  shouting  — 

"  Here  goes  for  a  dive  off  Long  Wharf,"  went 
like  a  flash  over  the  stern. 

When  Fanny  came  to  the  surface  she  was 
about  twenty  yards  distant  from  Roland  and 
about  the  same  distance  from  Sam. 

Roland  struck  out  with  vigorous  strokes  to 
reach  her  and  Sam  did  the  same.  It  was  a  race 
between  the  two  as  to  which  would  reach  her 
first. 

They  came  up  to  her  together. 

"  Don't  touch  her,"  said  Roland  to  Sam  : 
uLeave  her  to  me." 

"  All  right  sir,"  said  Sam  ;  "  I'm  a-goin'  fur 
the  cap  then." 

Fanny's  Turkish  cap  had  come  off  and  was 
floating  some  distance  away  and  Sam  swam  to- 
wards it. 

In  lowering  away  the  gig,  by  some  mischance, 


80  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

she  was  swamped  ;  the  crew  were  now  engaged 
in  getting  out  another  boat,  but  Roland  putting 
his  arm  around  Fanny  swam  with  her  towards 
the  vessel. 

"  Never  mind  the  boat,"  shouted  Roland,  who 
was  rapidly  nearing  the  vessel. 

In  a  moment  he  was  alongside  and  Captain 
Bracebridge,  who  stood  on  the  side  ladder 
where  with  every  roll  of  the  vessel  he  was  sub- 
merged to  the  waist,  received  Fanny  in  his  arms 
saying  to  Roland  — 

"  God  bless  you  my  boy !  " 

He  carried  Fanny  up  the  side  and  she  at  once 
went  below  to  put  on  dry  apparel,  for  she  had 
suffered  no  injuries  and  had  indeed  supported 
herself  in  the  water  by  paddling  until  Roland 
reached  her. 

Meantime  Sam  had  secured  the  Turkish  cap 
and  waving  it  above  his  head  with  one  hand 
swam  with  the  other  towards  the  vessel. 

Sam  was  in  his  element  in  the  water,  and 
could  scarcely  refrain  from  cutting  up  some  of 
the  antics  with  which  he  used  to  astonish  the 
boys  when  bathing  off  Long  Wharf,  Boston. 

As  it  was,  he  swam  first  on  his  back,  then  011 
his  side,  then  dog  fashion  to  the  great  amuse- 
ment of  those  on  board  of  the  vessel,  who  were 


AMBEEGKIS   ISLAND.  81 

collected  in  a  group  at  the  stern  watching  him. 

But  suddenly  every  cheek  blanched  and  a  cry 
of  horror  arose  from  the  group. 

A  monstrous  fin  appeared  above  the  water 
just  behind  Sam,  cutting  the  sea  in  his  direction. 

"  A  shark !     A  shark  : 

Sam  heard  the  cry  and  looked  behind  him. 

He  saw  the  fin  also,  and,  taking  the  cap  be- 
tween his  teeth,  swam  with  both  hands,  using 
every  effort  to  reach  the  ship. 

It  was  now  too  late  to  lower  a  boat;,  the  boy 
was  in  the  most  deadly  peril ;  the  shark  was 
not  more  than  twenty  yards  behind  him  and  he 
was  yet  some  ten  or  twelve  yards  from  the  ship. 

The  people  on  board  shouted  hoping  to  fright- 
en the  shark  off.  But  it  was  not  to  be  fright- 
ened. It  shot  suddenly  forward  and  got  be- 
tween Sam  and  the  ship  and  then  began  to  edge 
towards  him. 

"This  is  horrible!"  exclaimed  Roland,  "we 
must  do  something  —  fire  our  revolvers,  ah! 
what  is  this  ?  Carl  you're  a  brick  ?  " 

Tom  Carl,  the  gunner,  had  climbed  the  taff- 
rail  and  was  balancing  a  harpoon.  He  had  been 
a  harpooner  on  a  whaler  and  knew  how  to 
throw  the  weapon. 


82  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

"Dat's  no  use  now,"  said  a  voice,  and  turning, 
they  beheld  old  Sted.,  stripped  to  the  waist,  with 
a  long  carving  knife  in  his  hand. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  ?"  asked  the  gun- 
ner. 

"Ise  a  gvvine  to  do  some  carvin',"  said  old 
Sted.,  and  balancing  himself  upon  the  rail  a  mo- 
ment he  dived  head  foremost  into  the  sea. 

All  this  time  the  shark  had  been  circling 
around  Sam  and  edging  nearer  and  nearer  each 
time.  So  cowardly  are  these  sea  monsters  they 
never  make  a  direct  attack  on  any  large  living 
body. 

Sam  had  ceased  to  swim  towards  the  vessel 
and  half  dead  with  terror  simply  kept  himself 
afloat  by  paddling. 

The  people  on  board  were  watching  for  the 
appearance  of  the  cook's  wooly  head  somewhere 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  shark,  when  all  at  once  the 
monster  sprang  half  out  of  the  sea  and  lashed 
the  water  with  its  tail.  Then  it  turned  upon  its 
back  and  the  spectators  saw  a  long  red  slit  in 
its  white  belley,  from  which  the  blood  gushed 
out,  dying  the  sea  around  it.  A  wild  cheer 
greeted  the  sight. 

Then  the  cook's  head  emerged  from  the  water 
near  Sam. 


AMBERGRIS  ISLAND.  83 

"  Come  honey,"  said  old  Sted.;  let's  go  home." 
Sam  comprehended  what  had  taken  place  and 

the  reaction  overpowered  him.     He  fainted. 
The  cook  put  his  arm  around  him  and  swam 

with  him  to  the  ship. 

"You're  a  noble  fellow,  Steadfast  Peters," 

said  Roland,  when  the  cook  reached  the  deck ; 

"  and  111  reward  you  well  for  your  bravery." 
"  O,  dat's  nuffin,  sah ;  Ise  done  dat  befo'." 
"  Yes,"  said  the  first  lieutenant ;  "  I  saw  him 

do  a  similar  act  off  the  coast  of  California." 


84  AMBEKGRIS  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER   ELEVENTH. 

THE    SEA    SERPENT'S    ATTACK  —  A    NAEBOW 
ESCAPE. 

During  all  this  time  the  sea  serpent  was  for- 
gotten, but  when  the  vessel  was  got  under 
weigh  again  they  saw  it  to  windward  in  the 
same  position. 

When  Fanny  returned  to  the  deck  she  called 
attention  to  it. 

She  had  donned  a  crimson  satin  dress,  the 
only  one  she  had  altered  to  her  fit  and  she  look- 
very  lovely  in  it. 

She  had  intended  to  wear  it  only  at  dinner, 
but  the  necessities  of  the  present  occasion  com- 
pelled her  to  wear  it  on  deck. 

On  her  head  she  wore  one  of  Roland's  straw 
hats  which  had  been  trimmed  with  scarlet  rib- 
bon, and  which  became  her  dark  tresses  and  rose 
and  lily  complexion  wonderfully. 

The  Turkish  cap  which  Sam  had  so  nearly 


AMBEEGEIS   ISLAND.  85 

lost  his  life  in  recovering,  was  hung  up  in  the 
rigging  to  dry. 

"  Yes,  it  is  still  there,"  said  Roland,  when 
Fanny  pointed  out  the  fish ;  "  luff  up  a  little 
and  let  us  see  if  we  can  get  any  nearer  to  it." 

The  vessel  was  brought  up  close  to  the  wind 
and  in  a  short  time  it  was  apparent  that  the  dis- 
tance between  the  fish  and  the  vessel  was  grad- 
ually being  decreased. 

"  You  must  know  that  I  am  very  grateful  to 
you,"  said  Fanny  to  Roland  in  a  low  tone,  as 
they  stood  together  somewhat  apart  from  the 
rest ;  "  I  thank  you  very  much  for  your  brave 
act  in  jumping  overboard  after  me.  Believe  me 
I  shall  always  remember  it  with  gratitude." 

"  I  would  do  a  great  deal  more  than  that  for 
you,"  said  Roland  in  a  whisper ;  "  there  is  no 
danger  that  I  would  not  brave  for  your  sake." 

Fanny  blushed  as  her  eyes  sought  the  deck. 

"  I  know  you  are  very  kind  to  me,"  she  said, 
after  a  pauze ;  "  but  let  us  watch  the  sea  ser- 
pent." 

"  You  never  give  me  a  chance  to  speak  to  you 
alone,"  said  Roland,  ignoring  the  invitation  to 
look  at  the  sea  serpent. 

"  Well,  I  will  sometime,"  she  said. 

"When?" 


86  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

"  0,  bye  and  bye." 

"  Say  this  evening?  " 

"  O,  dear,  no." 

4  Why  not  ?  I  wish  to  speak  to  you  on  a  sub- 
ject of  great  importance." 

"  Won't  it  keep  for  a  while  ?  " 

"  No  ;  please  grant  my  request :  meet  me  in 
the  grand  saloon  this  evening  after  dinner  when 
the  people  are  on  deck  enjoying  their  cigars." 

"  O,  see,  we  are  coming  nearer  the  serpent." 

"Hang  the  serpent!  "  muttered  Roland. 

"  What  did  you  say  ?  " 

"  Nothing.  We  will  look  at  the  serpent  im- 
mediately. Won't  you  promise  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Thank  you.  Now  we  will  look  at  the  sea 
serpent,"  and  Roland's  face  became  radiant. 
Fanny  hid  hers  from  view  by  shading  it  with 
her  hand  while  she  looked  in  the  direction  of 
the  fish. 

There  was  now  no  douot  of  the  nature  of  the 
fish.  It  was  a  veritable  sea  serpent.  It  swam 
along  the  surface  of  the  water  sometimes  with 
its  head  above  and  sometimes  with  its  head  sub- 
merged in  the  sea. 

Certain  portions  of  its  body  were  visible  at 
periods  above  the  surface,  and  the  length  of  the 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  87 

monster  was  as  nearly  as  could  be  guessed, 
about  three  hundred  feet,  as  the  naturalist  had 
said. 

It  was  now  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the 
ship  and  could  be  plainly  discerned  with  the 
naked  eye. 

With  the  glass  it  was  seen  that  its  body, 
which  was  as  round  as  a  sugar  hogshead,  was 
covered  with  large  glittering  scales.  No  fins 
were  apparent  on  the  fish. 

It  was  flattened  at  the  head,  and  its  mouth, 
which  it  opened  from  time  to  time  was  of  im- 
mense size. 

It  did  not  permit  the  vessel  to  approach  any 
nearer  than  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  It  kept 
that  distance  for  an  hour  or  more  and  although 
the  vessel  was  from  time  to  time  brought  nearer 
the  wind  the  distance  from  the  fish  was  no 
further  diminished. 

"  Can't  you  give  him  a  shot,  Carl  ?  "  asked 
Roland,  addressing  the  gunner. 

"  If  you  like,  sir." 

"  Load  up  one  of  the  guns  and  give  him  a 
taste  of  metal  if  you  can." 

"  Ay  ay  sir." 

The  gun  was  loaded  and  the  gunner  taking 
aim  fired. 


88  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

The  shot  fell  short. 

"  I'll  hit  him  this  time,"  said  the  gunner  as  he 
prepared  to  reload  the  piece. 

The  next  shot  struck  the  serpent.  It  raised 
its  body  half  out  out  of  the  sea  and  lashed  the 
water  with  its  tail.  Then  it  was  seen  to  head 
straight  for  the  vessel. 

<••  Why  it's  coming  for  us,"  said  the  lawyer,  as 
he  moved  towards  the  companion  way ;  '•!  think 
we  had  better  go  down  below." 

"I  tole  yer  dat  feller  would  gib  us  trubbel," 
said  the  cook  to  Sam. 

"  He's  a-comin'  fur  us,  yer  kin  bet,"  said  Sam. 

"  Give  him  another  shot,"  cried  Captain 
Bracebridge  ;  "  and  that  may  stop  him  —  Fan- 
ny go  below." 

Roland  drew  Fanny  to  the  companion  way 
and  she  descended  to  her  stateroom. 

The  serpent  had  now  approached  to  within 
two  hundred  yards  of  the  vessel.  Its  head  and 
about  ten  feet  of  its  body  were  out  of  the  water. 
Its  mouth  was  wide  open  and  it  could  be  seen 
that  it  was  of  a  pinkish  color  within. 

The  gunner  gave  it  another  shot,  which  must 
have  entered  its  throat,  for  the  scales  were  seen 
to  fly  off  and  scatter  in  the  water  ;  they  seemed 
to  be  as  large  as  pie  plates. 


AMBEBGKIS   ISLAND.  89 

With  a  hiss  that  sounded  like  the  steam  es- 
caping from  a  boiler  it  came  on  towards  the 
vessel. 

"  Fly  for  your  lives !  "  shouted  Captain 
Bracebridge. 

There  was  an  immediate  rush  for  the  cabin 
and  forecastle  and  all  got  safely  below  except 
Sam  and  the  cook;  they  took  shelter  in  the  galley. 

"  We  is  gone,  fo'  shuah,"  said  the  cook ;  "I 
knowed  dat  feller  would  gib  us  trubble." 

The  monster  came  on  and  struck  the  schooner 
amidships  causing  her  to  careen  almost  to  her 
beam  ends.  It  struck  its  head  against  the 
masts  and  rigging,  tore  the  mainsail  to  shreds, 
broke  the  main  gaff  in  two  pieces  and  caused 
great  damage  to  the  rigging. 

It  seemed  to  be  enraged  only  against  the  ves- 
sel. 

"  I  tole  yer,"  said  the  cook  to  Sam  while  the 
havoc  was  going  on  ;  "I  tole  yer  'tain't  no  use 
foolin'  wid  a  sea  sarpen'." 

After  having  expended  it's  rage  against  the 
vessel  the  monster  drew  off,  turned  it's  head  to 
windward  and  swam  away  at  a  wonderful  rate. 

It  left  several  of  its  scales  upon  the  deck 
which  it  had  rubbed  off  in  its  fury  and  great 
clots  of  blood  upon  the  rigging  and  masts 


90  AMBEKGRIS   ISLAND. 

showed  that  the  gunner  had   aimed  well  and 
given  it  a  desperate  wound. 

Dr.  Vandenhoffer  picked  up  the  serpent's 
scales  and  carried  them  below. 

Very  glad  were  all  on  board  of  the  Star  of  the 
Sea  that  they  had  escaped  with  their  lives. 

They  could  not  think  of  the  monster  with- 
out shuddering. 

The  serpent  soon  passed  from  sight  and  the 
crew  were  at  once  put  to  work  making  repairs. 
A  new  mainsail  was  bent,  a  new  gaff  fitted  and 
the  ravages  made  in  the  rigging  repaired. 

While  the  crew  was  busy  at  this  work  under 
direction  of  the  officers,  Dr.  Vandenhoffer  gave 
Roland,  Captain  Bracebridge,  Fanny,  the  law- 
yer and  sailing  master  an  interesting  description 
of  the  habits  of  the  sea  serpent. 

"  He  didn't  leave  us  in  much  doubt  as  to  his 
habit  of  dealing  with  those  who  attack  him," 
said  Roland,  when  the  naturalist  concluded. 

"No,"  said  the  cook  to  himself,  having  over- 
heard the  remark  — 

"  'Tain't  no  fun  foolin'  wid  a  sea  sarpin !  " 


AMBEKGKIS  ISLAND.  91 


CHAPTER  TWELFTH. 

SAM  AS  ROLAND'S  EVIL  GENIUS. 

Roland  was  in  love  with  Fanny,  of  that  there 
could  be  no  doubt.  Captain  Bracebridge  was 
confident  of  it  and  he  was  almost  certain  that 
Fanny  liked  Roland  more  than  any  other  young 
man  she  had  met,  though  he  doubted  whether 
she  was  actually  in  love. 

The  pair  were  very  young.  Roland  was  only 
in  his  twenty-third  year  and  Fanny  was  little 
more  than  seventeen.  Nevertheless  the  affec- 
tion which  springs  into  existence  at  these  early 
years  is  as  likely  to  be  true  and  lasting  as  the 
love  of  a  maturer  age,  if  the  object  is  worthy. 

Captain  Bracebridge  therefore  resolved  to  let 
matters  take  their  course.  He  knew  that  Ro- 
land was  a  noble  and  high  minded  young  man 
and  was  quite  willing,  nay  indeed  would  be  very 
glad  that  Fanny  should  become  his  wife. 

As  for  Roland  himself  he  was  on  nettles. 
Fanny  had  given  him  no  opportunity  of  speak- 


92  AMBEEGRIS   ISLAND. 

ing  to  her  alone  since  sighting  the  coast  of 
Terra  del  Fuego,  in  the  South  Atlantic,  and  he 
feared  that  she  avoided  being  alone  with  him  to 
spare  him  the  pain  and  mortification  of  a  rejec- 
tion should  he  declare  his  love,  for  she  could  not 
have  inferred  anything  else  from  his  language 
on  the  occasion  when  they  were  interupted  by 
Sam  with  the  cry  of  "land  ho  ! "  than  that  he 
was  about  to  declare  that  he  loved  her. 

And  now  that  she  had  promised  to  see  him 
alone  his  mind  was  filled  with  alternate  hope 
and  fear  —  hope  that  she  was  according  the  eag- 
erly solicited  interview  to  him  to  give  him  the 
opportunity  to  declare  his  love  with  a  view  to 
the  formation  of  an  engagement  —  and  fear  that 
she  was  indifferent  to  him  and  wished  to  remove 
all  misunderstanding  with  regard  to  her  feelings. 

He  longed  for  the  hour  that  would  bring 
about  the  interview  and  yet  he  feared  its  ap- 
proach. 

But  the  time  arrived  nevertheless. 

Captain  Bracebridge,  with  the  passengers  and 
officers  as  an  audience  was  descanting  upon  the 
beauty  of  the  nights  in  the  tropics,  and  all  were 
enjoying  the  luxury  of  an  after-dinner  cigar 
when  Roland  took  his  way  to  the  grand  saloon. 


AMBEKGRIS   ISLAND.  93 

Fanny  was  sitting  at  the  piano  playing  a 
waltz. 

"Shall  I  sing  you  something?"  she  asked  as 
Roland  approached. 

"  I  should  be  delighted,  if  you  would,"  said 
Roland. 

Fanny  sang  that  beautiful  Scotch  ballad,  Jock 
O'  Hazeldean,  and  gave  it  with  much  feeling. 

"  You  have  a  charming  voice,"  said  Roland  as 
she  concluded  ;  "  but  that  was  to  be  expected." 

"Why  to  be  expected?" 

"Because  nothing  but  a  charming  voice  could 
be  associated  with  so  fine  a  form  and  so  sweet  a 
face." 

"  I  see  you  insist  on  paying  compliments.  I 
am  dressed  as  a  queen  to-night  and  therefore 
have  a  right  to  command,  so  I  forbid  you  to  use 
any  more  flattery.  You  see  sir  this  is  a  queen's 
costume,  all  but  the  diamonds  and  crown." 

"Your  eyes  render  the  diamonds  unnecessary," 

"  O  you  are  growing  worse  than  ever.'4 

"  I  am  sincere  in  what  I  say.  Let  me  thank 
you  for  giving  me  this  interview.  If  you  had 
not  avoided  being  alone  with  me  I  would  not 
have  asked  for  it,  and  now  since  I  have  the 
pleasure  of  speaking  with  you  alone  let  me  tell 
you  why  I  solicited  this  interview. 


94  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

Fanny  ran  her  fingers  over  the  keys  of  the 
piano  and  bent  low  over  the  instrument. 

Roland  bent  over  her,  and  took  her  hand. 

"  Fanny,"  he  whispered,  "  my  object  in  ask- 
ing you  to  meet  me  here  — " 

"  School  o'  whales  alongside,  sir,"  said  Sam 
entering  the  saloon,  "  the  kind  that  the  —  the 
lump  o'  grease  comes  from  and  Kepting  Brace- 
bridge  says  come  on  deck,  if  yer  please,  an'  see 
'em." 

Roland  bit  his  lips  with  vexation. 

"  Tell  Captain  Bracebridge  I  will  be  on  deck 
directly,"  he  said,  releasing  Fanny's  hand,  and 
pretending  to  turn  over  some  of  the  music  on 
the  piano. 

"All  right  sir.  Dr.  Vandenhoffer  told  me  to 
ask  Miss  Fanny  if  she  would  be  kind  enough  to 
give  me  the  book  on  the  lump  o'  grease  whales 
—  all  whales  that  I  ever  seen  were  nothin'  but  a 
lump  o'  grease  as  far  as  I  could  see  — the  book's 
the  one  the  doctor  wuz  a  readin'  an  explainin'  to 
Miss  Fanny  yesterday  an'  she  tuck  it." 

"Yes,"  said  Fanny  ;  "it  is  in  my  room.  I  will 
get  it ;  you  had  better  go  on  deck  Roland,  or 
my  father  will  think  it  strange." 

Fanny  arose;  and  as  she  passed  Roland,  who 
stood  with  a  look  of  deep  vexation  on  his  face 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  95 

she  gave  him  a  little  bit  of  consolation  for  his 
disappointment. 

"Some  other  time,"  she  whispered  ;  "you  can 
tell  me  what  you  were  going  to  tell  me  tonight." 

Then  she  gave  him  a  sweet  glance  and  left 
the  saloon. 

"  Sam,"  said  Roland. 

"  Yes  sir." 

"  You  are  my  evil  genius." 

"What  is  that  sir?" 

"I  am  like  a  thirsty  traveller  in  a  desert,  and 
every  time  I  am  about  to  raise  a  cup  of  water  to 
my  lips,  you  come  and  dash  it  away." 

"  Don't  yer  believe  it  sir.  I'd  go  through  fire 
an'  water  fur  yer  ;  an'  if  yer  were  in  that  there 
desert,  what  yer  spoke  of,  an'  I  wuz  with  yer 
an'  we  wuz  both  of  us  dyin'  fur  a  drink,  an'  ther 
wuz  only  one  cup  of  water,  yer  should  have  it 
it  fur  yerself.  I  wouldn't  drink  one  drop  of  it. 
Yer  may  set  thet  down  sir  as  the  truth,  the 
whole  truth  an'  nothin'  but  ther  truth,  so  help 
yer  bob,  'cordin'  to  the  statoots  made  and  pur- 
vided." 

"  I  know  you  are  a  good  boy  Sam,  a  brave  boy, 
and  I  like  you  very  much.  What  I  said  had  no 
reference  to  your  heart  or  your  head,  my  boy. 
I  spoke  metaphorically.  I  meant  that  some 


96  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

strange  fate  sends  you  seeking  me  at  times 
when  —  when  —  well,  never  mind." 

"  I  kin  kinder  guess  what's  the  matter,  s.ir. 
No  offence,  sir.  I'll  be  more  careful  next  time." 

"All  right,"  said  Roland  laughing  ;  "now  I 
will  go  up  and  have  a  look  at  this  school  of  am- 
bergris whales." 

"  There  is  the  book.  Sam,"  said  Fanny,  enter- 
ing the  saloon ;  "but  as  I  am  going  on  deck  I  will 
hand  it  to  the  Doctor  myself." 

."  What  is  the  book?  "  asked  Roland. 

"  It  is  a  description  of  the  habits  of  the  sperm 
whale,  the  fish  from  which  ambergris  is  obtained. 
It  is  one  of  your  own  books  taken  from  the  sa- 
loon library  here." 

"O  yes  I  remember  it.  I  had  it  years  ago, 
when  I  first  began  my  investigation  of  the  habits 
of  the  sperm  whale.  Well,  let  us  go  on  deck 
and  see  these  monsters.  Sam  send  the  cook  to 
me." 

"  Yes  sir." 

Roland  and  Fanny  went  on  deck  and  found 
that  they  were  too  late  to  see  the  whales ;  the 
night  had  grown  suddenly  as  black  as  Erebus. 
The  wind  was  freshening  every  moment ;  the 
gaff  topsails  had  been  clued  up  and  men  were 
aloft  furling  them. 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  97 

The  spray  was  beginning  to  dash  over  the  ves- 
sel and  the  sea  was  rapidly  rising,  the  low 
grumbling  of  distant  thunder  could  be  heard  and 
occasional  flashes  of  lightning  illumined  the  hea- 
vens and  revealed  the  angry  tossing  of  the 
sea. 

"We  are  on  the  eve  of  a  tempest,"  said  Cap- 
tain. Bracebridge ;  "  but  we  have  a  splendid 
boat.  Just  notice  how  easily  she  rises  to  the 
sea." 

"  She  rides  the  waves  Captain  like  a  swan," 
said  the  sailing  master. 

"  She  rides  so  easily,"  said  Roland ;  "  that  I 
had  scarcely  noticed  when  below  that  there"  was 
any  change  in  the  weather." 

"  It  has  come  on  gradually,"  said  the  sailing 
master;  "the  barometer  is  falling  and  I  am  in 
expectation  of  having  a  wild  night." 

"  No  doubt  of  it,"  said  Captain  Bracebridge, 
"Fanny,  my  love,  you  had  better  go  below. 
Those  of  us  who  are  of  no  use,  but  only  in  the 
way  on  deck,  will  go  to  the  grand  saloon  and 
enjoy  ourselves  there  ;  it  is  snug  enough  below," 

"  That  is  a  proposition  upon  which  I  look 
with  much  favor,"  said  the  lawyer. 

"Eet  ees  exactly  accordinr  to  my  views," 
said  the  naturalist. 


98  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

"  And  as  I  have  just  given  the  cook  instruc- 
tions to  bring  to  the  grand  saloon  such  materials 
as  will  be  likely  to  increase  the  comforts  below 
I  accede  to  the  proposition  with  pleasure.  Will 
you  take  my  arm  Miss  Bracebridge  ?  " 

So  said  Roland. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Fanny,  as  she  took  Ro- 
land's arm  and  the  party  took  their  way  below. 

At  that  instant  there  was  a  terriffic  peal  of 
thunder  almost  over  their  heads  accompanied  by 
a  blinding  flash  of  lightning,  which  lighted  up 
the  ocean  to  the  horizon  and  revealed  1'or  an  in- 
stant a  large  vessel  to  windward  of  the  Star  of 
the  Sea. 

"  Sail  ho  ! "  shouted  the  lookout. 

This  cry  caused  Roland  and  Captain  Brace- 
bridge  to  return  to  the  deck. 

"Whereaway?"  asked  Roland. 

"  To  windward  sir,"  answered  the  sailing 
master. 

"  How  is  she  headed  ?  " 

"  On  the  opposite  tack." 

"Shall  we  have  a  chance  of  speaking  her  ?  " 

"  I  think  so.  If  the  wind  increases  much 
more  she  will  probably  lay  to  :  I  am  about  to  lay 
our  vessel  to  under  a  forestaysail  and  double 
reefed  foresail." 


AMBEEGEIS   ISLAND.  99 

"  Allow  me  to  say  Mr.  Hardman,"  observed 
Captain  Bracebridge  ;  "  that  if  you  had  asked 
my  advice  as  to  what  to  do  I  would  have  ad- 
vised you  precisely  as  you  are  going  to  do." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Hardman. 

So  the  Star  of  the  Sea  was  laid  to  the  wind 
and  her  safety  confided  to  the  keeping  of  Dan 
Maguiness  the  lieutenant  of  the  watch,  the  sail- 
ing master  accompanying  Roland  and  Captain 
Bracebridge  below  at  the  former's  request. 


100  AMBEEGKIS  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER   THIRTEENTH. 

THE  PHANTOM  SHIP. 

The  thunder  roared,  the  lightning  flashed,  the 
wind  blew  and  the  waves  tossed  high  their 
frothy  crests. 

But  the  Star  of  the  Sea  rode  the  waters  like 
a  swan  as  the  sailing  master  had  said,  and  al- 
though the  force  of  the  wind  lashed  the  waves 
into  fury  and  the  Star  of  the  Sea  sunk  into  deep 
hollows  and  rose  on  mountainous  swells  she 
shipped  very  little  water. 

Every  flash  of  lightning  revealed  the  ship  to 
windward  in  the  same  position.  But  an  extra- 
ordinary circumstance  connected  with  her  was 
that  she  was  carrying  all  sails  even  to  studding 
sails,  while  the  Star  of  the  Sea  had  only  a  small 
rag  of  the  foresail  set,  and  even  that  small  piece 
of  sail  was  sufficient  to  lay  the  vessel's  lee  side 
deep  down  in  the  water  when  she  rose  on  the 
crest  of  of  a  wave. 

"  The  most  extraordinary  thing  I  ever  knew," 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  101 

said  Dan  Maguiness,  the  lieutenant  of  the 
watch. 

Down  in  the  grand  saloon  the  party  gathered 
there  were  enjoying  themselves  hugely. 

Various  kinds  of  refreshments  were  on  the 
table  in  abundance.  Steadfast  Peters  and  Sam 
dressed  in  white  jackets  and  pants  and  each  with 
a  white  napkin  over  his  arm,  looking  for  all  the 
world  like  summer  hotel  waiters,  were  moving 
to  and  fro  supplying  refreshments  to  the  com- 
pany and  enjoying  a  private  bite  themselves  oc- 
casionalty. 

"  Dis  is  better  dan  blacking  boots  in  Court 
Square,  Boston,"  said  the  cook  to  Sam  as  the  lat- 
ter busied  himself  in  putting  a  plate  of  canned 
peaches  where  they  would  do  the  most  good. 

"  Yer  bet,"  replied  Sam  seritentiously. 

"  Yo'  didn't  have  any  trouble  wid  indisgeshun 
at  dat  time  ?  "  said  the  cook  interrogatively. 

"  No  siree  bob ;  had  very  little  to  digest." 

"Who  cooked  yer meals  for  yo'  den?  "  asked 
the  cook. 

"  Used  to  take  my  breakfast  at  Young's,"  said 
Sam  with  a  wink,  "  dinner  at  Parker's  and  sup- 
per at  the  Brunswick." 

"  You  lived  high  den." 


102  AMREEGR1S   ISLAND. 

"  Yes,"  said  Sam ;  "used  to  okkerpy  a  fust 
floor  attic  on  North  Street." 

"  Now  yo'  is  cabin  boy  ob  de  Star  ob  de  Sea 
an'  hab  a  nice  cabin  fo'  yo'self.  Yo'  is  gettin' 
up  in  de  world,  3-0'  is." 

"I  should  a  bin  pretty  well  down  in  the  world 
now  but  for  you,  old  feller,"  said  Sam,  giving 
the  cook  a  grateful  look. 

"  Dat  ar  shark  wuz  bound  to  make  a  meal  of 
yo',"  rejoined  the  cook  with  a  laugh. 

"  But  he  didn't  calkerlate  on  gittin'  a  taste  of 
yer  carvin'  knife,  old  feller,  eh  ?  that  settled  his 
hash,  yer  bet." 

"  I  guess  dat  ar  shark  wuz  mighty  surprised 
when  he  feel  dat  carbin  knife  ticklin'  him," 
laughed  old  Sted.  "  I  lamed  dat  ar  trick  frum 
de  San'wich  Islanders  ten  y'ars  ago." 

"  You  must  larn  it  to  me  sometime." 

"  I  will  my  boy,  fo'  yo've  got  de  pluck  to  go 
into  de  business." 

"  Can't  some  one  sing  a  real  sailor  song  ?  " 
said  Lawyer  Hopkins,  interrupting  the  conver- 
sation which  was  going  on  among  the  party  in 
the  saloon. 

"  I  will  try  and  sing  you  one,"  said  Fred 
Hardman,  after  a  pause,  no  other  person  having 
volunteered. 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  103 

"  Ah !  ver  good  ;  ver  good,"  said  the  natural- 
ist, rubbing  his  hands,  "  sea  songs  are  full  of — 
de  enthusiasm  —  stir  de  blood  —  yees,  yees  let 
us  have  de  song." 

"  With  pleasure,"  said  the  sailing  master 
"  though  like  most  sea  ballads,  there  is  less  at- 
tention given  to  poetry  than  to  spinning  out  a 
yarn  in  its  construction.  It  is  called 

THE  PHANTOM  SHIP. 

A  Yankee  ship  and  a  Yankee  crew, 

Once  sailed  from  Boston  Bay; 
Around  Good  Hope  and  to  the  east, 

This  good  ship  took  her  way. 
The  captain  he  had  sworn  an  oath, 

To  sail  the  ocean  blue, 
Until  he  saw  the  Phantom  Ship 

And  Vanderdecken  too. 

This  Yankee  captain  sailed  the  sea 

From  Boston  to  Japan, 
Then  south  again,  and  east  across 

The  South  Pacific  ran, 
But  never  met  the  Dutchman's  craft 

And  then  he  swore  anew, 
That  till  he  found  the  Phantom  Ship, 

He'd  sail  the  ocean  blue. 

And  years  went  by,  but  still  he  sailed 

Each  ocean  o'er  and  o'er, 
And  when  his  crew  wished  to  return 

The  captain  only  swore 


104  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 


That  till  he  saw  the  Phantom  Ship, 

The  ocean  he  would  roam 
And  throw  the  first  man  overboard 

Who  talked  of  sailing  home. 

One  day  a  homesick  sailor  said 

"  'Tis  time  this  cruise  was  o'er , 
I'm  tired  of  sailing  on  the  sea 

And  long  to  be  on  shore." 
The  captain  heard  these  words  and  straight 

Into  a  passion  flew ; 
He  seized  the  man,  and  with  an  oath 

Him  overboard  he  threw. 

That  night  an  awful  tempest  rose, 

And  loud  the  thunder  roared ; 
The  Phantom  Ship  appeared  in  view 

And  sent  a  boat  on  board ; 
Old  Vauderdecken  climbed  the  side, 

His  hair  all  drenched  with  spray ; 
He  seized  the  captain  by  the  arm, 

And  this  to  him  did  say : — 

"You  heard  a  seaman  say  to-day 

He  longed  to  sail  for  home 
And  then  you  threw  him  overboard 

Into  the  ocean's  foam. 
For  this  most  cruel  act  I  swear 

Henceforth  and  ever  more 
You'll  sail  a  phantom  ship  like  me 

And  ne'er  return  to  shore. 

Unless  you  find  the  body  of 
The  hapless  man  you  drowned  — 

The  South  Pacific  till  that  time 
Shall  be  your  cruising  ground." 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  105 


Then  Vanderclecken  left  the  ship, 

And  rowed  into  the  night ; 
The  Phantom  ship  spread  all  her  sails 

And  vanished  soon  from  sight. 

And  ever  from  that  hour  they  say 

The  captain  cruises  round 
The  South  Pacific  looking  for 

The  hapless  man  he  drowned. 
In  storms  his  ship  appears  in  view, 

All  sail  spread  to  the  breeze, 
When  other  vessels  scarce  can  live 

Amidst  the  foaming  seas. 

"  Quite  an  interesting  story,"  said  the  lawyer, 
"but  nobody  believes  in  phantom  ships  any 
more  than  in  ghosts." 

"Fve  seen  a  phantom  ship,"  said  Captain 
Bracebridge. 

"  So  have  I,"  said  Fanny ;  "  and  perhaps  it 
was  the  ship  of  your  Yankee  captain  Mr.  Hard- 
man." 

"Indeed  ;  where  did  you  see  it  ?  " 

"  In  the  South  Pacific." 

"  Then  it  must  have  been  the  ship  of  the  Yan- 
kee captain,  for  Vanderdecken's  cruising  ground 
is  off  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  I  believe." 

"  Yes,"  said  Captain  Bracebridge,  with  a 
smile ;  "  it  must  have  been  the  Yankee  captain 
I  will  tell  you  about  it." 


106  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

At  this  moment  Dan  Maguiness  the  lieuten- 
ant of  the  first  watch,  who  had  just  been  re- 
lieved from  duty,  the  second  watch  having  gone 
on  deck,  it  being  now  a  few  minutes  after  mid- 
night, entered  the  saloon  and  addressing  Roland 
said  — 

"  I  can't  make  out  what  that  vessel  is  to  wind- 
ward sir;  it  is  blowing  a  gale;  we  are  under 
a  close  reefed  foresail,  but  the  ship  to  windward, 
and  she  is  a  full  rigged  craft,  has  everything  set 
even  to  royal  stun'sails,  and  what  is  more  extra- 
ordinary than  all,  she  doesn't  seem  to  move  a 
yard  from  the  spot  where  she  was  first  seen." 

"  It  must  be  the  Yankee  captain,"  said  Ro- 
land laughing  ;  "we're  on  his  cruising  ground." 

"  I'm  puzzled  about  it  sir ;  and,  what  is  also 
very  strange,  although  the  clouds  have  lifted 
and  the  ship  could  be  discerned  with  the  glass, 
she  is  never  to  be  seen  except  during  a  flash  of 
of  lightning." 

"  That's  very  strange,"  said  the  lawyer. 

44  Two  or  three  times  the  moon  has  shot  down 
a  ray  through  a  rift  in  the  clouds  on  the  very 
spot,  but  there  is  no  ship  there.  Then  when  a 
flash  of  lightning  comes,  there  she  is  holding 
gallantly  on,  with  everything  drawing,  and  look- 
ing a  picture  of  beauty." 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  107 

"We  must  see  this,"  said  Roland,  as  he  rose. 

"  Is  it  safe  to  go  on  deck  ?  "  asked  the  lawyer. 

"  If  you.  hold  on  to  something  it  is  safe  to  be 
on  deck  at  almost  any  time,"  said  Fanny  laughing; 
"  except  when  the  vessel  is  attacked  by  a  sea 
serpent.  I  am  going  on  deck  to  see  the  Phan- 
tom Ship." 

"  Then  if  you  go  I  will  go,"  said  the  lawyer. 

"  Den  eet  ees  safe  for  me  too,"  said  the  nat- 
uralist ;  "  and  I  haf  de  curiosity  to  see  dis  Phan- 
tom Ship." 

They  went  on  deck,  but  all  was  dark.  The 
clouds,  however,  had  broken,  and  an  occasional 
gleam  of  moonlight  shot  down  upon  the  sea. 

Suddenly  there  was  a  flash  of  lightning,  and, 
sure  enough,  at  a  short  distance,  was  seen  a 
noble  looking  vessel  with  all  sail  set,  a  perfect 
cloud  of  canvass,  and  presenting,  as  Dan  Ma- 
guiness  had  said,  a  picture  of  beauty. 

"  A  Phantom  Ship,"  said  Roland  ;  "by  heaven, 
it  is  a  Phantom  Ship  ;  no  vessel  could  carry  so 
much  sail  as  that  in  a  gale  of  wind  like  this  ! " 

"If  that  vessel  had  our  breeze,"  said  the  sail- 
ing master,  "she  would  be  under  double  reefed 
topsails." 

The  utmost   consternation  prevailed  among 


108  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

the  crew  forward.  Although  relieved  from  duty 
the  first  watch  had  not  gone  below,  but  stood 
waiting  fearfully  for  each  flash  of  lightning  that 
revealed  to  their  wondering  gaze  such  a  sight  as 
a  vessel  only  a  short  distance  from  them  with  all 
sail  set  and  scarcely  bending  to  the  gale  which 
blew  so  furiously. 

"  That  ship  is  manned  by  no  living  beings," 
said  Bill  Jones  the  boatswain. 

"  I  saw  skeletons  in  her  rigging."  said  George 
Harris  the  carpenter. 

"  She  is  a  regular  Banshee  of  a  ship,  sure," 
said  Pat  McCarthy. 

"She'll  bring  us  some  dom  bad  luck,"  said 
Andrew  Dunn. 

"  We're  a-goin'  to  have  a  worse  gale  nor 
this,"  said  John  Dixon  ;  "you  mark  my  words, 
mates.  That  ship  '11  bring  us  bad  luck.  They 
always  do.  I  never  saw  one  afore,  but  I've  heard 
of  'em,  and  of  the  bad  luck  they  bring." 

The  wind  was  now  beginning  to  decrease  in 
force. 

"  The  gale  has  spent  itself,"  said  Captain 
Bracebridge  ;  "the  moon  will  come  out  directly 
and-our  Yankee  captain  wont  be  seen." 

It  was  as  Captain  Bracebridge  had  said.     The 


AMBEKGEIS   ISLAND.  109 

wind  went  gradually  down  ;  the  flashes  of  light- 
ning ceased.  Soon  the  clouds  broke  entirely 
and  scattered  and  no  ship  was  to  be  seen  any- 
where on  the  moonlit  sea. 


110  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 


CHAPTER   FOURTEENTH. 

THAT  BOY  SAM  AGAIN. 

"  Good  heavens  !  "  exclaimed  Roland ;  "what 
an  extraordinary  thing  ! " 

"  Wonderful !  "  exclaimed  the  lawyer. 

"  Where  could  that  ship  go  ?"  Sam  asked,  ad- 
dressing the  cook. 

"Dat  wa'nt  a  ship  ;  dat  was  a  phantom  —  a 
ghost.  I  seen  him  befo'." 

"  You  have  ?  " 

"  Yes  my  boy  ;  you  kin  make  up  yo'  mind  dat 
I  has  seen  ebberyting  on  de  sea." 

"  But  how  could  yer  see  a  ship,  ef  she-  wa'nt 
there  ?  that's  the  question  that  comes  before  the 
house,  'cordin'  to  the  statoots  made  and  pur- 
vided." 

"  Yo'  seen  her  shadder,  dat's  all.  Dat  yer 
ship  wuz  a  sailin'  in  some  odder  ocean  an'  de 
play  ob  de  lightning  on  de  clouds  showed  her 
reflection." 


AMBEEGRIS  ISLAND.  Ill 

The  explanation  the  cook  was  giving  Sam, 
Captain  Bracebridge  was  giving  the  party,  aft, 
but  in  a  more  scientific  manner ;  the  cause  of 
the  apparition  was  somewhat  similar,  the  Cap- 
tain was  showing,  to  that  which  produces  the 
mirage  in  certain  portions  of  the  United  States. 

Dr.  Vandenhoffer  confirmed  the  Captain's 
theory  some  days  later,  by  a  learned  disquisi- 
tion on  the  subject  and  the  minds  of  the  crew 
were  set  at  rest  in  regard  to  the  Phantom  Ship. 

No  more  exciting  events  occurred  for  several 
days.  The  time  passed  pleasantly  enough,  how- 
ever, in  reading  and  conversation  on  deck  dur- 
ing the  day  and  with  theatrical  entertainments 
in  the  grand  saloon  in  the  evening. 

Dr.  Vandenhoffer  was  a  remarkably  fine 
player  on  the  organ,  and  frequently  entertained 
the  company  with  organ  recitals. 

The  cook  too  contributed  considerably  to  the 
amusement  of  the  party,  and  especially  to  the 
pleasure  of  the  crew,  with  his  violin. 

Going  forward  of  an  evening  he  would  play 
some  lively  tunes  and  the  crew  would  enjoy 
themselves  in  dancing. 

Sam  could  give  a  song  and  dance  like  a  pro- 
fessional variety  artist,  and  had  given  himself 


112  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

« 

enthusiastically  up  to  this  business,  the  roll  of 
the  vessel  preventing  him  from  carrying  on  his 
old  practice  of  standing  on  his  head. 

Altogether  our  voyagers  felt  the  time  pass 
pleasantly  enough,  and  every  day  was  bringing 
them  nearer  to  that  part  of  the  South  Pacific 
where  the  ambergris  island  was  said  to  be  located. 

Roland  once  more  found  an  opportunity  to 
speak  to  Fanny  alone. 

Going  into  the  grand  saloon  one  day,  after 
lunch,  in  search  of  a  book  from  the  library,  he 
found  Fanny  seated  at  the  organ  practising  some 
of  the  naturalist's  pieces. 

She  looked  up  at  him  with  a  bright  smile. 

Roland  knew  that  all  the  others  were  on  deck 
and  there  was  little  danger  of  interruption  from 
any  one,  Sam  being  engaged  in  his  usual  after- 
lunch  employment  of  assisting  Steadfast  Peters 
to  wash  dishes,  so  he  resolved  to  make  use  of 
the  opportunity  and  declare  his  love  for  Fanny. 

He  took  a  seat  beside  her  and  the  young  lady 
evidently  knew  what  was  coming,  for  she  mani- 
fested some  agitation  and  made  several  discords. 

"  Fanny,"  said  Roland. 

"Yes." 

"  Twice  I  have  tried  to  to  tell  you  something 


AMBEUGKIS   ISLAND.  113 

that  is  on  my  mind  and  twice  I  have  been  inter- 
rupted at  the  very  moment  when  I  was  about  to 
make  you  acquainted  with  —  when  I  was  about 
to  tell  you— " 

Roland  faltered.  This  was  his  first  attempt 
at  a  declaration  of  love  and  he  felt  the  task 
much  harder  than  he  expected.  The  young 
lady's  apparent  self-possession  threw  him  into 
confusion.  His  heart  palpitated,  his  cheeks 
burned  and  his  tongue,  for  the  moment,  refused 
to  do  its  office. 

"  At  any  rate  you  are  very  persevering,"  said 
Fanny  "  and  you  will  yet  succeed,  I  am  sure,  in 
letting  me  know  what  troubles  you,"  and  she 
gave  him  a  sidelong  glance,  and,  what  any  other 
but  a  young  man  deeply  in  love,  would  have 
seen  was  an  encouraging  smile. 

"  O,  Fanny  can't  you  see,"  said  Roland  des- 
perately. 

"All  I  can  see,"  said  Fanny,  laughing  and 
looking  towards  the  door,  uis  Sam." 

Roland  turned  and  there  again  was  his  tor- 

O 

mentor  with  his  mouth  wide  open  as  if  about  to 
speak. 

"Great  heavens!"  exclaimed  Roland,  "if  it 
isn't  that  —  that  — young  scoundrel  again  !  " 


114  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

"I  couldn't  help  it,  sir!  I  couldn't!  the  Kepting 
sent  me  sir  fur  its  here  at  last  sir,  its  here  — " 

"What's  here?  "  demanded  Roland. 

"The  lump  o'  grease  island !  " 

"The  ambergris  island!"  cried  Roland; 
"  hurrah  !  hurrah  !  " 

And  without  a  look  at  Fanny  he  dashed 
through  the  saloon  and  sprang  on  deck. 


AMRERGK1S  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER   FIFTEENTH. 

THE  AMBERGKIS  ISLAND. 

"  Whereaway  is  it?  "    cried  Roland  excitedly. 

"Somewhere  to  wind'ard,"  said  Captain 
Bracebridge. 

"  To  wind'ard ;  I  don't  see  it,"  said  Roland 
looking  in  the  direction  referred  to. 

"O,  it  isn't  in  sight  yet,"  said  the  Captain. 

"  Isn't  in  sight  yet,"  echoed  Roland  ;  "then 
how  do  you  know  it  is  to  wind'ard  ?  " 

"  By  the  odor  in  the  air.  Don't  you  smell 
anything  ?  " 

"  I  do,"  said  Fanny ;  "  we  are  near  the  am- 
bergris island  ;  I  know  the  odor  well." 

"I  do  detect  a  peculiar  perfume,"  said  Ro- 
land, sniffing  the  breeze. 

"  That  is  the  odor  of  ambergris,"  said  Captain 
Bracebridge ;  "  the  island  is  some  leagues  to 
wind'ard." 

"  Then  we  have  passed  it  ?  " 


116  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

"  No  ;  the  wind  has  hauled  considerably,  but 
we  may  still  fetch  the  island  on  this  tack,  for 
the  Star  of  the  Sea  makes  good  weathering  in  a 
breeze  like  this." 

"  Let  her  be  hauled  close  up  then  and  spread 
every  stitch  of  canvass  we  have  and  we  may 
sight  the  island  before  night." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,"  said  the  sailing  master ;  "for- 
ward, there  !  sheets  home  !  " 

The  Star  of  the  Sea  was  hauled  close  to  the 
wind  and  with  a  spanking  breeze  she  bowled 
along  at  a  rapid  pace. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  look- 
out at  the  fore  crosstrees  shouted  — 

"Land  ho!" 

"  Whereaway  ?  "  cried  Roland,  who  was  on 
deck. 

"  On  the  weather  bow,  sir." 

Roland  ascended  to  the  fore  crosstrees  with  a 
glass  and  satisfied  himself  that  the  man  was  not 
mistaken.  Land  was  plainly  to  be  seen,  and  oi 
considerable  extent.  Moreover  it  loomed  well 
out  of  the  water  and  was  evidently  high  or  hillj 
land. 

The  odor  of  ambergris  was  becoming  all  this 
'time  more  and  more  discernible  and  there  coulc 


AMBEEGEIS   ISLAND.  117 


scarcely  be  any  doubt  that  this  was  the  mysteri- 
ous ambegris  island,  so  much  talked  of  by  sea- 
men—  the  el  dorado  of  whaling  men. 

Shortly  before  sunset  the  island  was  revealed 
plainly  to  the  view  of  the  naked  eye  and  with 
the  glass  it  could  be  seen  that  it  was  no  barren 
island,  but  an  island,  fertile  with  forest  and, 
meadow,  and  its  surface  diversified  with  hill  and 
dale. 

"  Breakers  ahead !  "  shouted  the  lookout. 

''Breakers  on  the  weather  bow,  breakers  on 
the  lee  bow,  breakers  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach; 
"  added  Roland  who  was  at  the  fore  crosstrees 
with  his  glass. 

"Then  this  is  certainly  the  ambergris  island," 
said  Captain  Bracebridge  to  the  naturalist,  "for 
the  island  is  said  to  be  fenced  in  by  a  coraline  or 
volcanic  wall  of  considerable  extent,  and  inside 
of  that  there  is  a  circle  of  smooth  water  about 
seven  miles  wide  surrounding  the  island.  There 
is  a  passage  somewhere  through  this  surround- 
ing reef  and  where  it  is  we  will  have  to  find  out. 
I  would  advise,"  the  Captain  continued,  address- 
ing Roland,  who  had  descended  to  the  deck,  "to 
run  to  leeward  of  the  island  for  the  night, 
where  we  will  have  the  water  smooth  and  where 
there  will  be  no  risk  of  our  running  on  the  reef 


118  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

and  in  the  morning  \ve  can  get  out  the  boats 
and  start  out  on  a  search  for  an  entrance 
through  the  reef  to  the  smooth  water." 

The  vessel  was  run  to  the  leeward  of  the 
island  pursuant  to  the  Captain's  advice,  and  af- 
ter the  sun  went  down  and  darkness  fell,  which 
was  almost  immediately,  the  watch  was  set  and 
every  person  who  was  off  duty  was  invited  to 
the  grand  saloon  where  Roland  had  ordered  re- 
freshments to  be  served  and  where  the  evening 
was  devoted  to  festivity,  in  honor  of  their  hav- 
reached  the  island. 

To  the  lookout,  who  had  first  seen  the  land, 
Roland  presented  an  elegant  gold  wateh  and 
chain,  which  he  had  purchased  in  Boston,  imme- 
diately before  starting  on  the  voyage,  for  this 
object. 

The  lucky  and  happy  recipient  was  Pat  Mc- 
Carthy. 

"It's  a  lucky  man  I  am  begor,"  said  Pat  as  he 
put  the  watch  in  his  pocket ;  "  an'  I'd  be  willin' 
to  discover  a  dozen  of  islands  a  day  at  the  same 
price,  so  I  would." 

"I  have  its  mate  for  the  man  who  first  gives 
me  tidings  of  my  father,  and  five  hundred  dol- 
lars besides,"  said  Roland. 

"  Nobody  kin  git  that  there  watch  an'  five 


AMBEEGKIS   ISLAND.  119 

hundred  dollars  'cept  the  man  what  it's  designed 
fur,"  said  Sam  to  the  cook  ;  "What's  to  be  is  to 
be,  'cordin'  to  the  statoots  made  and  purvided." 

"  Den  I  s'pose  if  we's  got  to  be  wrecked  on 
this  island  we's  got  to  be  wrecked,"  said  the 
cook 

"  Sure  and  sartin,"  said  Sam. 

"Well,  s'pose  I  say,  Sam  you  take  dat  ar 
peach  pie  an'  go  an'  eat  it  somewhere  out  on  de 
cabin  stairs ! " 

"  It  has  got  to  be,"  said  Sam  as  he  picked  up 
the  pie. 

"An'  s'pose  I  say,  Sam  you  jest  putdar  ar  pie 
down  dar,  or  111  break  your  head  fo'  yo'  wid 
dis  can  ob  strawberries?" 

"It  has  not  ter  be,  fur  I'm  a-goin'to  get  out 
with  this  pie." 

So  saying,  Sam  darted  out  of  the  saloon. 

"  Dat  arSam  am  a  smart  boy,"  said  the  cook 
to  himself,  as  he  mixed  a  bowl  of  punch  for  the 
sailors  to  whom  Roland  had  ordered  it  to  be 
served. 

"  I  think  this  must  be  an  excellent  fishing 
ground,"  said  Lawyer  Hopkins,  entering  the  sa- 
loon, having  gone  on  deck  to  satisfy  himself 
that  there  was  no  danger  of  the  vessel  being 
dashed  ashore  ;  "  the  water  is  alive  with  fish  of 


120  AMBERGKIS   ISLAND. 

all  kinds  large  and  small.  Several  monstrous 
whales  have  come  to  the  surface  to  breathe, 
close  alongside  of  the  ship." 

At  this  moment  one  of  the  sailors  of  the  watch 
appeared  at  the  door  of  the  saloon. 

u  If  you  please  sir,"  he  said,  addressing  Ro- 
land ;  "  lieutenant  Macpherson  sent  me  down  to 
say  that  the  sea  is  milk  white." 

The  party  in  the  saloon  hastened  on  deck  and 
to  their  wonder  they  saw  that  what  the  sailor 
had- stated  was  true.  As  far  as  the  surface  of 
the  sea  could  be  seen  from  the  vessel  it  was 
like  milk. 

"  Wonderful !  "  exclaimed  the  lawyer. 

"  I  never  saw  anything  like  this  before,"  said 
Captain  Bracebridge  ;  "  though  I  have  heard  of 
the  Milk  Sea." 

"Dees  ees  not  de  region  of  de  "Milk  Sea,"  said 
the  naturalist ;  "  de  Milk  Sea  is  on  de  coast  of 
Papua  or  New  Guinea.  Dees  ees  not  de  milk 
water.  Dees  ees  animalculae.  Millions !  bil- 
lions !  trillions  !  more,  more,  by  far,  of  animal- 
cuse — leetle  fishes  —  make  de  sea  white  — 
draw  a  bucket  of  water —  you  vill  see." 

A  bucket  of  water  was  drawn,  a  light  brought 
and  by  the  aid  of  a  common  magnifying  glass  it 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  121 

could  be  seen  that  the  water  was  alive  with  tiny 
moving  creatures. 

"  Still  it  is  wonderful,"  said  the  lawyer. 

"Voonderful!  "  exclaimed  the  naturalist;  uyees 
sir  ;  all  nature  von  vonder  —  immense  —  ver 
great  vonder  —  vast." 

At  this  moment  there  was  a  sound  as  if  a  lo- 
comotive was  blowing  off  steam  alongside. 

"  The  ambergris  whale !  "  cried  Captain  Brace- 
bridge,  as  a  large  black  mass  moved  slowly  past 
the  vessel,  its  surface  glistening  under  the  lights 
that  threw  their  rays  across  the  water  from  the 
rigging. 

"We  have  reached  Wonderland,"  said  the  law- 
yer, as  the  whale  was  followed  by  another  of 
equal  size. 

"  Wonder-sea,  you  mean,"  said  Fanny,  laugh- 
ing. 

"You  are  right  Miss  Bracebridge,"  said  the 
lawyer ;  "  but  if  we  succeed  in  getting  ashore 
to-morrow,  we  may  find  it  Wonderland." 

"  And  I  have  no  doubt  we  will,"  said  Captain 
Bracebridge  ;  "  but,  hush  I  what  is  that  ?  " 

A  sound  was  heard  like  that  caused  by  the 
fall  of  a  heavy  rain  shower  on  the  water,  but 
there  was  not  a  cloud  in  the  sky. 


122  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

"  It  cannot  be  rain  ?  "  said  Roland. 

"It  is  not  rain,"  said  the  sailing  master;  "it 
is  the  play  of  a  school  of  fish.  I  have  heard  it 
before  in  the  North  Sea,  it  is  caused  by  millions 
of  small  fish  playing  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 
Mr.  Hopkins  is  right  in  saying  that  this  is  an  ex- 
cellent fishing  ground.  I  think  it  must  be  a 
kind  of  fish  hospital,  or  at  least,  a  fish  rendez- 
vous of  some  kind." 

"  I  wonder  if  it's  a  rendyvoo  fur  sharks  ?  " 
said  Sam  to  the  cook. 

Scarcely  were  the  words  spoken  before  a 
dozen  of  huge  shark  fins  were  seen  in  the  glare 
of  the  starboard  light. 

Sam  shuddered.  He  had  not  forgotten  his 
narrow  escape. 

"  There  would  be  little  hope  for  anybody  who 
should  fall  overboard  here  tonight,"  said  Roland, 
whose  quick  eye  had  caught  sight  of  these  vo- 
racious monsters  of  the  deep. 

"  Excepting  old  Sted.,"  said  lieutenant  Mac- 
pherson  ;  "  he  could  hew  his  way  through  a  reef 
of  sharks." 

"  If  yo'  do  de  'tackin'  yo'self,"  said  the  cook  ; 
"  dey  will  be  'fraid  ob  yo'.  De  shark  am  de 
cowardliestest  animal,  when  yo'  show  him  fight, 


AMBEKGKIS  ISLAND.  123 

dat  is  in  de  ocean.  De  shark  would  turn  tail  to 
de  shrimp  ef  de  shrimp  wuz  armed  wid  a  re- 
volver/' 

The  cook's  description  of  the  nature  of  the 
shark  was  received  with  a  burst  of  laughter. 

"  Have  you  noticed,"  said  Captain  Brace- 
bridge  i  "  that  every  one  of  these  fish  seem  to 
be  going  in  the  direction  of  the  island?  " 

Before  any  one  could  reply  there  was  another 
blast  alongside  from  a  whale,  but  this  time  no 
black 'mass  was  seen. 

"  Strange  that  he  doesn't  rise,"  said  Mac- 
pherson." 

"  But  the  sea  seems  to  be  rising  above  us," 
said  Roland,  as  what  appeared  to  be  a  billow  of 
the  milk  white  sea  rose  up  alongside.  But  it 
did  not  come  towards  the  ship  ;  it  moved  slowly 
along  in  the  direction  of  the  island. 

"  By  heaven,  it  is  a  white  whale  !  "  exclaimed 
the  sailing  master. 

It  was  indeed  a  milk  white  whale  of  gigantic  . 
size.     As  it  disappeared  the  party  regretted  that 
they  had  not  seen  it  in  the  daylight. 

"  I  expect,"  said  the  sailing  master ;  "  that  we 
will  see  all  kinds  of  fishes  when  we  get  into  the 
smooth  water  between  the  reef  and  the  island. 
I  am  almost  certain  that  these  fish  are  making 


124  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

for  the  smooth  water  inside  of  the  reef.     But 
to-morrow  will  tell." 

"  Yes,  to-morrow  will  tell,"  said  Roland,  as  he 
descended  to  his  cabin. 


AMBEKGEIS  ISLAND.  125 


CHAPTER  SIXTEENTH. 

THE    WONDERS    SURROUNDING    THE    ISLAND. 

With  the  first  streak  of  daylight  the  Star  of 
the  Sea  was  headed  for  the  island. 

The  line  of  breakers  was  about  five  miles  to 
windward  and  the  island  perhaps  eight  or  ten 
miles  further. 

Within  half  a  mile  of  the  breakers  the  lead 
line  gave  no  bottom  at  150  fathoms,  and  it  was 
concluded  that  the  reef  was  like  a  wall. 

The  longboat  and  launch  were  hoisted  out, 
the  former  was  in  charge  of  Lieutenant  Mac- 
pherson  and  was  rowed  by  six  men  among 
whom  were  the  carpenter  and  gunner.  The 
lawyer  and  naturalist  were  also  in  this  boat. 

The  launch  was  in  charge  of  the  sailing  mas- 
ter. This  boat  contained  Roland,  Fanny, 
Captain  Bracebridge,  Albert  Marble,  the  sur- 
geon and  Sam,  and  was  rowed  by  four  men. 

The  longboat  was  to  proceed  to  the  right 
along  the  line  of  breakers,  the  launch  to  the 


120  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 


left.  The  boat  which  first  discovered  a  pas- 
sage through  the  line  of  breakers  was  to  fire  a 
gun 

The  Star  of  the  Sea  was  left  in  charge  of 
Lieutenant  Dan  Maguiness,  the  boatswain,  the 
cook  and  two  seamen.  Lieutenant  Maguiness 
was  instructed  to  beat  to  windward  in  the  track 
of  the  launch. 

About  two  hours  after  starting  the  distant  re- 
port of  a  gun  announced  that  the  longboat  had 
discovered  a  channel. 

A  signal  was  made  by  the  launch  to  the  Star 
of  the  Sea  which  was  standing  outward  on  the 
starboard  tack.  The  vessel  was  put  about  and 
the  launch  was  rowed  out  to  meet  her.  The 
people  in  the  launch  were  taken  on  board  of 
the  vessel  and  she  was  run  to  leeward  and 
hauled  to  on  the  port  tack  and  laid  upon  the 
track  of  the  longboat. 

The  breeze  being  light  it  was  nearly  an  hour 
before  the  Star  of  the  Sea  came  up  with  the 
longboat. 

The  latter  was  lying  outside  of  the  line  of  the 
breakers.  The  boat  was  rowed  out  to  meet  the 
vessel  as  she  drew  up. 

" Have  you  discovered  any  passage  ?"  asked 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  127 

Roland,  as  the  boat  came  alongside  ;  "we  don't 
see  any." 

"Yes  sir,''  said  Lieutenant  Macpherson,  "we 
have  discovered  a  passage ;  it  is  very  narrow, 
not  more  than  sixty  feet  wide,  but  it  is  deep 
and  runs  right  through  to  the  smooth  water.  I 
have  sounded  it  clear  to  the  inside  of  the  reef, 
unless  we  can  find  a  wider  passage  somewhere 
we  will  have  to  tow  the  vessel  through  with  the 
boats. 

"It  is  needless  seeking  for  a  wider  passage," 
said  Captain  Bracebridge ;  "this  island  has  al- 
ways been  regarded  as  inaccessible  on  account  of 
the  surrounding  reef  and  if  the  lieutenant  has 
discovered  a  passage,  at  all,  we  are  lucky." 

"Then  let  us  have  the  vessel  towed  through 
at  once,"  said  Roland  ;  "the  breeze  is  light  and 
we  may  not  soon  find  such  a  favorable  opportu- 
nity as  the  present." 

A  fresh  crew  was  put  on  board  the  launch, 
the  vessel's  sails  were  furled,  and  the  boats  tak- 
ing her  in  tow  headed  for  the  line  of  breakers. 

As  the  vessel  neared  the  reef  the  opening  ap- 
peared. It  was  very  narrow  but  although  the 
waves  broke  furiously  on  each  side  of  it,  the 


128  AMBERGEIS   ISLAND. 

water  in  the  passage  was  as  smooth  as  the  sur- 
face of  a  pond. 

About  one  hundred  yards  from  the  entrance 
the  passage  widened  and  it  continued  to  widen 
until  there  was  a  space  of  fully  half  a  mile  be- 
tween the  two  lines  of  broken  water. 

Sail  was  now  hoisted  upon  the  vessel  and  the 
men  in  the  boats  ceased  their  arduous  task  of 
rowing  and  instead  of  towing  the  vessel  were 
taken  in  tow  by  her. 

The  reef,  it  was  seen,  was  about  a  mile  and 
a  quarter  wide.  Upon  the  reef  the  waves  were 
churned  into  a  yeasty  foam ;  but  inside  of  the 
reef  there  was  a  beautiful  stretch  of  smooth 
blue  water,  six  or  seven  miles  wide,  apparently 
encircling  the  island. 

O 

"All  the  fleets  in    the    world    intent    anchor 

O 

here  in  safety"  said  Dan  Maguiness. 

"Provided  they  could  get  in,"  said  Roland. 

"Yes,"  said  the  sailing  master;  "if  there  is 
no  larger  passage  than  the  one  through  which 
we  have  come,  it  would  be  almost  impossible 
for  any  larger  vessel  than  ours  to  find  shelter 
in  this  magnificent  haven." 

The  vessel  was  now  headed  for  the  island  and 


AMBEKGEIS   ISLAND.  129 

as  she  approached  its  shores  vast  numbers  of  all 
kinds  of  fish  were  seen. 

Immense  whales  were  observed  on  every 
hand,  and  among  them  one  milk  white,  prob- 
ably the  one  seen  on  the  previous  evening. 

Sharks,  sword  fish,  dolphins,  porpoises  and 
similar  fish  were  in  vast  numbers  and  one  spe- 
cies of  fish  was  seen  of  the  porpoise  kind  with 
a  large  fin  on  its  back  shaped  like  the  jib  of  a 
ship.  The  fin  rose  from  the  back  of  the  fish 
fully  six  feet.  These  fish  were  in  pairs  and  went 
through  the  water  with  great  rapidity. 

"That's  a  singular  looking  fish,"  said  the  law- 
yer, referring  to  the  fish  just  described. 

"That  is  what  is  called  the  topsail-yarder," 
said  Captain  Brace bri dge ;  "it  is  a  kind  of 
porpoise." 

"The  milk  sea  again,"  s?id  Roland,  as  the 
chooner  entered  a  patch  of  milk-white  water. 

After  leaving  the  white  patch  behind  them  the 
sea  suddenly  became  as  red  as  blood. 

"I  should  call  this  the  blood  sea,' '  said  Fanny. 

"What  is  the  cause  of  this,  Doctor?"  said 
Roland  addressing  the  naturalist. 

"Same   as  de  milk   sea — animalculae — Dees 


180  AMBEBGBIS  ISLAND. 

ees  whale  food — fish  food — food  for  all  kinds  of 
fishes — eet  ees  spawn  of  Crustacea." 

"The  sea  is  like  blood.  If  we  hadn't  a  scien- 
tific man  on  board  to  explain  the  causes  of  the 
many  wonders  that  have  greeted  the  eye  of  late 
we  might  regard  these  appearances  as  omens  of 
coming  disaster,"  said  the  lawyer. 

"All  tings  can  be  explained,"  said  the  nat- 
uralist. 

"I  wish,"  said  Roland  to  himself;  "that  he 
could  explain  why  it  is  that  Sam  always  comes 
upon  me  when  I  am  in  the  act  of  making  known 
to  Fanny  my  love  for  her." 

But  as  the  naturalist  did  not  hear  this  ques- 
tion he  did  not  volunteer  any  explanation. 

"I  guess,"  said  Sam  to  the  cook,  as  they 
stood  looking  at  the  red  water  which  the  vessel 
churned  up  under  her  bows:  "I  guess  this  is 
where  the  red  herrin's  is  caught." 

"No,"  said  the  cook;  "de  red  herrin's  is 
cotched  in  de  Red  Sea." 

"Where  is  the  blue-fish  caught  then?"  asked 
Sam. 

"In  de  deep  blue  ocean,  ob  course,"  said  the 
darkey. 

"Yer  gittin'  kinder  witty,  old  Sted."  said 
Sam. 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  131 


. . 


:An'   de    bass,"    pursued    the    cook,     "is 
cotched,  ob  course,  in  de  sound." 

"You  see  dat  substance  floating,"  said  the 
naturalist  to  the  party  aft,  pointing  to  some 
masses  on  the  surface;  "Dot  is  ambergris. 
You  shall  be  all  reech — reech — millionaires, 
eef  dees  vessel  reaches  home  all  right." 

"Yes,"  said  Captain  Bracebridge  ;  "I  expect 
we  shall  find  thousands  of  tons  of  it  on  the 
shores  of  this  island.  What  is  that  there — by 
heaven  it  is  a  woman  swimming  !"  and  the  cap- 
tain pointed  to  an  object  a  short  distance  from 
the  vessel,  which  indeed  looked  like  a  woman 
swimming  in  the  water. 

"It  is  a  wToman,"  said  Roland  excitedly,  "man 
one  of  the  boats  and  go  to  her  assistance.  She 
must  belong  to  the  island." 

But  before  any  action  could  be  taken,  the  ob- 
ject dived,  showing  the  tail  of  a  fish. 

"A  mermaid  !  "   exclaimed  Fanny. 

"It  is  indeed,"  said  the  lawyer;  "I  never 
expected  to  see  one." 

"A  sign  of  ill  luck,"  said  Macpherson ;  "I 
saw  one  in  the  Indian  ocean  once  and  we  were 
struck  by  a  squall  that  night  which  laid  the 


132  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

the  ship  on  her  beam  ends,  and  we  had  to  cut 
away  the  masts  before  she  righted." 

"You  came  through  it,  nevertheless,"  said 
Roland,  smiling;  "or  you  wouldn't  have  been 
here." 

"Yes,"  replied  Macpherson ;  "  but  it  was 
touch  and  go." 

O 

The  vessel  was  now  drawing  near  the  shore. 
Seals  and  sea  lions  were  seen  in  large  num- 
bers sunning  themselves  upon  the  beach,  and 
the  air  and  water  were  fairly  alive  with  aquatic 
birds. 

The  island  seemed  a  perfect  Paradise  to  the 
eye.  It  was  now  the  height  of  summer  in 
this  part  of  the  world,  and  the  trees  presented 
a  luxuriance  of  green  foliage  that  was  refresh- 
ing to  the  gaze  of  people  who  had  been  months 
upon  the  sea. 

The  Star  of  the  Sea  was  run  into  a  small 
cove  and  anchored  in  fifteen  fathoms  of  water, 
being  then  not  more  than  a  hundred  yards  from 
the  beach,  which  was  skirted  by  a  strip  of  white 
sand  on  which  were  observed  vast  masses  of 
ambergris.  Above  the  sand  was  a  strip  of 
shingle  and  a  little  further  on  vegetation  began. 

As  soon  as  the  vessel  was  moored,  a  party 


AMBEKGKIS   ISLAND.  133 

was  made  up  to  go  on  shore  to  explore  the 
island. 

This  party  consisted  of  Roland,  Captain 
Bracebridge,  Fanny,  the  naturalist  and  the 
lawyer,  the  second  lieutenant,  the  surgeon,  the 
cook  and  carpenter,  four  seamen  and  the  cabin 
boy.  All  of  the  party  were  supplied  with 
arms  and  ammunition,  and  even  Fanny  carried 
a  brace  of  pistols  at  her  belt,  while  Sam,  in 
addition  to  a  brace  of  pistols  carried  a  cutlass, 
which,  from  its  size  and  weight,  was  an  actual 
embarrassment  to  him. 

When  the  boat  landed  at  the  beach,  two  of 
the  seamen  were  left  in  charge  of  her,  and  the 
party,  on  going  up  the  strand,  had  actually  to 
pick  their  way  among  the  wild  fowl  which  ran 
among  their  feet. 

Some  of  the  sea  lions  got  out  of  the  way  at 
their  approach,  but  others  took  no  notice  of 
them,  as  they  lay  lazily  blinking  in  the  sun. 

Some  of  these,  according  to  Dr.  Vandenhoff- 
er,  were  the  largest  of  their  species,  and  twice 
as  large  as  any  ever  seen  in  captivity.  They 
were  furnished  with  enormous  tusks,  which 
looked  very  formidable,  but  the  creatures  offered 
the  party  no  molestation. 


134  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

"Susan  !  "  exclaimed  Sam,  "look  at  them  tur- 
kles  !  one  of  them  would  make  enough  of  turkle 
soup  to  last  a  hotel  for  a  year." 

A  number  of  very  large  turtles  were  seen 
making  their  way  to  the  sea  to  get  out  of  reach 
of  the  party. 

"Come,  we  mils'  hab  one  of  dem  fo*  dinner," 
said  the  cook,  intercepting  an  unusually  large 
one,  which  with  Sam's  assistance,  he  succeeded 
in  turning  over  on  its  back. 

"Let  'im  lie  dar  'till  we  comes  back,"  said 
the  cook;  "he  cant  get  away." 

"Then  we'll  have  turkle  soup  fur  dinner?" 
said  Sam. 

"Yes,  my  boy,  an*  yo'  shall  hab  de  largest 
part  ob  him."  responded  the  cook. 

"  D'ye  mean  it?"  asked  Sam. 

"  Yes,  my  boy,  yo'  shall  hab  de  shell  fo'  your 
part."  and  old  Steadfast  grinned. 

On  reaching  that  part  of  the  island  where 
vegetation  began,  the  party  uttered  various 
exclamations  of  delight.  Myriads  of  bright- 
ly plumaged  birds,  among  them  birds  of  Para- 
dise, flitted  from  branch  to  branch  on  the  trees, 
parrots  screamed  and  monkeys  chattered  and 
golden  fruit  hung  in  clusters  from  the  branches. 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  135 

An  open  space,  covered  with  luxuriant  grass 
of  the  purest  emerald,  vhich  looked  like  aA\rell 
kept  lawn,  was  gemmed  with  flowers  of  every 
hue,  and  among  these,  innumerable  butterflies 
of  every  color,  from  a  pure  white  to  a  flaming 
crimson  were  seen  fluttering. 

The  music  of  song  birds  filled  the  air  and 
the  odor  of  flowers  almost  overpowered  the 
odor  of  the  ambergris. 

"A  perfect  Paradise!"  exclaimed  the  law- 
yer enthusiastically. 

"A  heaven  on  earth,"  said  Captain  Brace- 
bridge. 

Roland  who  was  a  little  behind  with  Fanny 
on  his  arm,  whispered  : — 

"Heaven  is  onty  where  love  is." 

Fanny  blushed,  and  turning  round  said,  with 
an  arch  smile — 

"Remember,  Sam  is  just  behind  you." 

"O,"  said  Roland,  smiling  ;  "  I  shall  circum- 
vent Sam  yet." 

"  But  where  is  the  naturalist?"  said  Fanny 
looking  around. 

"  There  he  is,"  said  Roland  pointing  to  the 
open  space,  and,  sure  enough,  there  he  was 


136  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 


with  his  hat  and  coat  off  running  around  chas- 
ing butterflies. 

"  The  naturalist,"  added  Roland,  "has  found 
his  el  dorado.  Many  of  these  birds,  butter- 
flies, trees  and  fruits  are  probably  unknown  to 
civilization  and  the  Doctor  will  earn  fame  by 
enriching  the  National  Museum  of  Natural  His- 
tory with  the  specimens  he  undertook  this 
voyage  to  obtain." 

At  this  moment  there  was  a  shout  from  the 
party  ahead. 

"What  is  the  matter?"  asked  Eoland. 

"  Evidences  of  civilization,"  said  the  sur- 
geon, pointing  to  some  objects  at  his  feet,  as 
Fanny  and  Roland  reached  him. 

"Evidences  of  civilization!"  exclaimed  the 
lawyer. 

"  They  are  indeed,"  said  Fanny. 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  137 


CHAPTER   SEVENTEENTH. 

THE  GRAVES  ON  THE  HILL  SIDE. 

The  evidences  of  civilization,  to  which  the 
surgeon  called  attention,  were  a  tomato  can  and 
an  old  rubber  shoe. 

And  fewer  better  evidences  that  civilization 
had  reached  the  island  before  the  advent  of  our 
voyagers,  could  have  been  produced. 

"  There  ain't  no  goats  on  this  island,"  said 
Sam,  coming  up. 

"  How  do  you  make  that  out,  Sam?  "  queried 
Roland. 

"  'Cause,  sir,  ef  there  wuz  any  goats  on  this 
island  that  there  tomato  can  and  that  there  rub- 
ber shoe  would  a  bin  devoured  long  ago." 

This  view  of  the  matter  caused  a  general 
laugh. 

"  You  believe,  however,"  that  these  are  signs 
of  civilization,"  said  Fanny,  "don't  you  Sam  ?  " 

''  Yes,  Miss,  an'  111  tell  you  what  is  another 


138  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

sign  of  civilization,  which  I  have  seen  on  the 
dumps  alongside  o'  tomato  cans  an'  old  shoes, 
ef  yer  wont  be  offended." 

"  Certainly  not ;  what  is  it  Sam  ?  " 

u  A  old  hoopskirt,  Miss." 

This  announcement  was  greeted  with  a  roar 
of  laughter  in  which  Fanny  joined,  although 
she  blushed. 

"That's  true,"  said  Captain  Bracebridge; 
"for  I  have  seen  a  goat  wrestling  with  a  hoop- 
skirt  myself  when  I  have  been  ashore." 

The  party  had  now  climbed  a  somewhat 
abrupt  acclivity  and  reached  its  summit. 

Below  them  in  the  direction  in  which  they 
were  going  lay  a  beautiful  valley,  through 
which  meandered  a  silvery  stream  about  one 
hundred  feet  wide.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
stream  rising  gradually,  was  another  acclivity, 
but  this  was  entirely  destitute  of  trees,  and  like 
the  other  open  space  was  studded  with  brightly 
hued  flowers. 

But  there  was  something  else  which  caught 
the  eyes  of  the  party  —  something  that  caused 
them  to  grow  suddenly  grave  and  to  utter  ex- 
clamations of  wonder. 

Three  objects  met  their  eyes  ;  three  white  ob- 


AMBEEGEIS  ISLAND.  139 

jects  that  stood  out  in  bold  relief  against  the 
green  of  the  hill  side. 
These  were  the  objects  : 

ttt 

Sam  had  no  sooner  set  his  eyes  on  these  than 
he  gave  a  shout  and  started  down  the  hill  side 
to  the  stream.  One  of  the  sailors  followed  him, 
and  both  ran  as  fast  as  they  could.  The  sailor 
was  more  accustomed  to  the  deck  than  to  run- 
ning races  on  land,  but  he  pressed  Sam  hard  as 
the  two  went  down  the  hill  together. 

Sam  arrived  at  the  stream  first.  It  was  ap- 
parent that  it  was  shallow,  for  the  cabin  boy 
sprang  across  it,  the  water  scarcely  coming  to 
his  knees. 

Once  across  the  stream  he  slackened  his  pace 
and  looked  behind  him.  The  sailor,  who  was 
John  Dixon,  was  close  upon  his  heels. 

Sam  increased  his  speed  and  the  party  won- 
dered what  could  be  the  object  of  the  race. 

Roland  was  entirely  mystified.  Captain 
Bracebridge  could  only  ejaculate,  "  by  the  man 


140  AMBEBGKIS   ISLAND. 

that  made  lanterns ! "  As  for  the  lawyer,  he 
looked  on  in  wonder,  his  eyes  opened  to  their 
widest  extent. 

Fanny,  however,  with  a  woman's  quick  wit, 
fathomed  the  mystery,  though  she  held  her 
peace. 

She  smiled  and  nodded  her  head  and  said  — 

"  I  understand,  I  understand;  Sam  is  a  bright 
boy,  as  well  as  a  brave  one." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  asked  Roland. 

"  Sam  will  explain  when  he  returns,"  she 
said,  "  and  though  the  sailor  is  a  good  man  my 
sympathies  are  naturally  with  Sam  and  I  hope 
he'll  get  it." 

"You  speak  in  riddles,"  said  Roland. 

"  Well,  look  and  see,"  said  Fanny. 

Sam  had  now  reached  the  crosses  on  the  hill 
side  ;  he  went  from  one  to  another  examining 
them  attentively,  then  he  turned  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  party  and  came  speeding  towards 
them  like  the  wind. 

The  sailor  also  examined  the  crosses  attentively 
and  then  followed  Sam  running  as  fast  as  he 
could. 

Sam  re-crossed  the  stream,  rushed  up  the  hill 
and  reached  the  party  breathless. 


AMBERGRIS    ISLAND.  141 

"Five  hundred  dollars  and  a  gold  watch  to  the 
fust  what  brings  tidings  of  your  father,  ?"  he 
shouted  rather  than  spoke  to  Roland. 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  Roland  eagerly,  a  light  begin- 
ning to  dawn  upon  him. 

"  There,"  said  Sam,  pointing  to  the  crosses 
— "  there  !  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Horace 
Dana,  fust  mate  of  the  Stormy  Petrel,  who  died 
May  9,  1871,  erected  by  Captain  Ralph  Ranger. 
I  forgot  the  others  — 

"  He  is  right,"  said  John  Dixon,  coming  in 
among  the  party,  puffing  like  a  porpoise  ;  "  he 
is  right.  I  suspicioned  the  thing  and  tried  to 
get  the  prize ;  he's  won  it  and  he's  welcome  to 
it." 

But  Roland  did  not  hear ;  the  whole  thing  had 
flashed  through  his  mind  in  a  moment,  and  he 
was  now  speeding  towards  the  crosses  as  fast  as 
Sam  and  John  Dixon  had  done.  He  seemed  to 
clear  the  stream  at  a  bound  and  was  running  up 
the  opposite  hill  before  the  party  had  recovered 
from  their  surprise. 

"  Ah  ! "  said  Captain  Bracebridge ;  "  I  wish 
I  had  such  a  son  as  that.  Come  let  us  follow 
him." 

When  the  party  reached  the  stream  Captain 


142  AMBERGEIS  ISLAND. 

Bracebridge  took  Fanny  in  his  arms  to  carry  her 
across. 

"So  you  wish  you  had  such  a  son  as  Roland?" 
whispered  Fanny. 

"  Yes,  but  then  I  wouldn't  give  my  daughter 
for  all  the  sons  in  the  world." 

"  Then  you  don't  feel  bad  because  I  am  not 
a  boy?" 

"Bless  you  what  put  that  into  your  little 
head  ?  no,  I  only  meant  that  in  addition  to  you 
I  would  like  to  have  a  son  like  him." 

"How  would  you  like  him  as  a  son-in-law?" 
asked  Fanny  blushing. 

"  Like  him  !  "  exclaimed  the  Captain  emphati- 
cally ;  "  By  the  man  that  made  lanterns  !  I 
would — I  would  give  him  my  blessing  in  two 
minutes !" 

"  Then,"  said  Fanny  with  a  pretty  blush  ;  "he 
is  quite  anxious  to  propose  I  assure  you." 

"  You  think  so  ?  " 

"  O  I  know  it." 

"  And  what  do  you  think  about  it  ?  " 

"  Me  !  I  have  no  other  wish  than  to  please 
you  in  such  a  matter." 

"  Come  now,  let's  have  no  fooling,"  said  the 
Captain  as  he  gave  Fanny  his  arm  to  assist  her 


AMBERGftlS  ISLAND.  143 

up  the  hill  side ;  "  tell  me  honestly,  do  you  like 
him?" 

"  Well,  I  do,  a  little." 

"  That's  enough.  Give  the  boy  some  encour- 
agement." 

"  I  will,  if  Sam  is  agreeable." 

"  Sam  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Sam  seems  to  be  the  ruling  spirit  in 
this  matter." 

"  What  the  deuce  do  you  mean,  Fanny?  " 

"I  will  tell  you  some  other  time.  But  rest 
assured  that  Sam  has  the  whole  thing  in  his 
hands.'' 

The}^  had  now  come  up  to  the  crosses.  Ro- 
land was  standing  before  them  with  his  arms 
folded  upon  his  breast  and  gravely  examining 
them. 

The  first  was  inscribed  : 

SACRED  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  HORACE  DANA, 

FIRST  MATE  OF  THE  BARQUE  STORMY  PETREL, 

WHO  DIED  ON  THIS  ISLAND, 

MAY  9,  1861. 
ERECTED  BY  CAPTAIN  RALPH  RANGER. 

The  second  was  inscribed : 


144  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

SACRED  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  WILLIAM  PETERS, 

HARPOONER  OF  THE  STORMY  PETREL, 

WHO  DIED  ON  THIS  ISLAND, 

DEC.  25,  1872. 
ERECTED  BY  CAPTAIN  RALPH  RANGER. 

The  third  was  inscribed : 

SACRED  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  JAMES  FITZWALTER, 

GREEN  HAND  OF  THE  STORMY  PETREL, 

WHO  DIED  ON  THIS  ISLAND, 

APRIL  2G,  1873. 
REQUIESCAT  IN  PACE. 

"  Sam  was  right,"  said  Roland,  as  the  party 
reached  him ;  "here  indeed  is  news  of  my  father. 
Sam  you  have  gained  the  reward  for  the  first 
tidings  of  the  Stormy  Petrel.  Dixon  you  shall 
be  rewarded  as  well.  I  am  glad  to  think  you 
had  so  much  thought  for  the  object  of  the  expe- 
dition as  to  recognize  at  once  in  these  pieces  of 
wood  the  hand  of  civilized  man  and  to  connect 
them  with  my  lather.  I  cannot  fail  to  become 
acquainted  with  his  fate  when  I  am  surrounded 
by  people  of  so  much  intelligence.  Dixon,  you 
shall  have  a  gold  watch  and  five  hundred  dol- 
lars as  well  as  Sam." 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  said  Dixon. 

"An'  I  is  glad  ter  kingratulaie  yer,  Mr.  Dix- 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  145 

ing,"  said  Sam,  "  fur  yer  gave  me  a  bully  good 
tussel." 

"  Heah  is  a  heap  of  stones,"  said  the  cook, 
who  had  been  examining  the  ground  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  the  graves;  "but  dar  don't  seem  to 
have  been  nobody  buried  here." 

"  A  cairn,"  said  Captain  Bracebridge. 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Roland;  "it  may  contain  news. 
Let  us  see.  Sam,  remove  the  stones  carefully." 

Sam  did  so  and  a  cigar  box  was  revealed  to 
view. 

It  was  immediately  opened  and  found  to  con- 
tain a  scrap  of  paper  on  which  these  words  were 
written  in  red  pencil  — 

"  Beware  of  the  ambergris  island !  thirty 
leagues  south,  south  west  —  Ralph  Ranger,  July, 
1873." 


146  AMBEKGKIS  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER   EIGHTEENTH. 

A  MYSTERIOUS  DISAPPEARANCE. 

"  Well,"  said  Roland  after  a  pause  ;  "  what 
does  this  mean?" 

"  There  is  no  ambiguity  about  one  part  of  it," 
said  the  lawyer ;  "  it  says,  'beware  of  the  am- 
bergris island.' ': 

"  That's  plain  enough,"  said  the  surgeon. 

"  And  why  beware  of  it,  I  wonder,"  said  Ro- 
land looking  around;  "it  is  a  beautiful  place 
and  seems  to  be  uninhabited." 

"  It  may  be  sickly,"  said  the  lawyer. 

"  I  dont  think  so,"  said  the  sailing  master ;  "I 
could  almost  venture  to  say  that  this  is  a  healthy 
spot.  The  odor  of  ambergris  may  prove  to  be 
disagreeable  for  a  while,  but  one  would  get  used 
to  that.  The  warning  refers  to  something  else. 
I  am  not  so  sure  that  the  island  is  not  inhabited. 
We  do  not  know  its  extent,  know  nothing  about 
it,  in  fact,  except  that  it  has  at  some  time 


AMBERGBIS   ISLAND.  147 

formed  a  shelter  for  the  crew  of  the  Stormy  Pe- 
trel. We  must  explore  it  to  ascertain  what 
there  is  to  beware  of,  and  my  advice  is  that  we 
sail  around  it  in  the  Star  of  the  Sea." 

"  Very  good  advice,  too,''  said  Captain  Brace- 
bridge. 

"  Advice  which  I  am  willing  to  follow/'  said 
Roland,  "  come  let  us  return  to  the  ship." 

They  descended  the  hill  and  crossed  the 
stream. 

As  they  ascended  the  acclivity  leading  up 
from  the  stream  in  the  direction  in  which  they 
had  come  Roland  said  to  the  sailing  master  — 

"  I  wonder  what  thirty  leagues  south,  south 
west  means  ?  " 

u  It  means,"  said  Fred  Hardman  as  he  halted 
and  looked  at  Roland,  "  that  your  father  is 
there." 

"That  is  precisely  my  own  thought  Hard- 
man," said  Roland,  "  and  there  must  be  some 
reason  why  my  father  could  not  say  so  plainly." 

"  That  reason  we  will  probably  discover  be- 
fore we  leave  this  island,"  said  the  sailing  mas- 
ter." 

"  I  shall  be  glad  if  we  do,"  said  Roland. 

On  the  way  to  the  beach  the   party  picked 


148  AMBERGEIS  ISLAND. 

some  of  the  fruits  that  hung  from  the  branches 
of  the  trees. 

Cocoa  nuts  were  there  in  plenty  and  golden 
bananas  hung  in  rich  luxuriance. 

"  Here's  yer  bananas/'  shouted  Sam  ;  "  here's 
yer  bananas ;  five  cents  apiece  —  six  for  a  quar- 
ter." 

When  they  had  reached  the  open  space  where 
they  had  left  the  naturalist,  he  could  not  be  seen. 

His  coat  and  hat  lay  among  the  grass  and 
flowers,  but  the  good  natured  face  and  bald 
head  and  spectacles  of  the  learned  doctor  were 
nowhere  visible. 

"Perhaps  he  has  followed  us  up  and  lost  his 
way,"  said  Roland. 

"  Then,  said  Fanny,  "  we  ought  to  shout  for 
him  and  let  him  know  where  we  are.  It  would 
be  too  bad  if  he  should  wander  away  into  the 
interior  and  became  the  prey  of  wild  beasts." 

"  There  are  no  wild  beasts  in  these  regions," 
said  the  sailing  master,  "  but  we  must  let  the 
doctor  know  where  we  are  nevertheless.  Ahoy 
there  ! "  he  shouted,  "  Dr.  Vandenhoffer,  ahoy ! 
we  are  returning  to  the  ship." 

But  there  was  no  response. 

"  Perhaps  he  has  gone  down  to  the  boat  with 


AMBEKGEIS  ISLAND.  149 

his  specimens,  with  the  intention  of  returning 
for  more,"  said  Roland ;  "Let  us  proceed." 

They  made  their  way  through  the  trees  and 
on  coming  out  on  the  beach  looked  around 
them  in  wonder. 

The  ship  had  vanished.     So  had  the  boat. 

Neither  boat  nor  ship  could  be  seen  any 
where. 

The  party  gazed  upon  each  other  in  amaze- 
ment. 

Could  they  believe  their  eyes. 

Scarcely  three  hours  had  passed  since  they 
left  the  Star  of  the  Sea  riding  securely  at  anchor. 

Now  the  vessel  was  nowhere  to  be  seen. 

Everything  else  was  as  before.  The  sea  lions 
sunned  themselves  upon  the  beach,  wild  fowl 
flew  around  in  clouds,  fishes  disported  them- 
selves in  the  water,  which  was  as  smooth  and 
unruffled  as  when  they  left  it,  but  the  ship,  the 
boat  and  those  in  charge  of  them,  together  with 
the  naturalist,  had  vanished. 


150  AMBEKGKIS  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER  NINETEENTH. 

"  Good  heavens  !  "  exclaimed  Roland  ;  what 
has  become  of  the  ship  !  " 

"  She  is  gone  !  "  said  the  lawyer. 

"  An'  I'll  be  blowed  if  the  turkle  ain't  gone 
too  ! "  said  Sam,  whose  eyes  were  examining 
the  beach. 

"  Surely  Macpherson  would  never  think  of 
removing  the  ship  to  some  other  location  with- 
out instructions  ?  "  said  Roland. 

"  He  is  too  good  an  officer  for  that,"  said  Cap- 
tain Bracebridge. 

"  He  is  indeed,"  said  the  sailing  master ; 
"moreover,  the  boat  is  gone.  There  is  a  mystery 
here  somewhere. 

"What  can  have  happened?  "  said  the  lawyer 
as  his  eyes  consulted  the  grave  faces  of  the 
party. 

"Beware  of  the  ambergris  island,"  said  Fan- 
ny, as  she  crept  nearer  to  her  father ;  "  there 
may  be  more  in  that  warning  than  we  think  of." 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  151 

"  I'm  sorry  we  lost  the  turkle  anyhow,"  said 
Sam  to  the  cook. 

"  What's  to  be  is  to  be,"  said  the  cook  with  a 
grin. 

Notwithstanding  the  peculiarity  and  gravity 
of  the  situation  Roland  could  not  help  smiling 
at  the  manner  in  which  the  cook  by  this  speech 
turned  the  tables  upon  Sam. 

"  Well,"  said  Captain  Bracebridge  ;  "  I  vote 
we  sit  down.  It's  no  use  crying  over  spilled 
milk  ;  the  ship's  gone  and  the  boat's  gone  aud 
we  are  here.  Has  anybody  got  a  flask  ?  " 

Half  a  dozen  flasks  were  handed  out  in  a  mo- 
ment. 

"  Ah  !  we're  not  short  of  supplies  yet,"  laugh- 
ed the  Captain. 

"  I'd  like  to  know  what's  become  of  the  ship," 
said  Roland  to  himself,  but  in  a  tone  loud  enough 
for  all  to  hear. 

"  I'd  like  to  know  what's  become  of  the  natu- 
ralist," said  Fanny  as  she  looked  around. 

"  And  I'd  like  to  know  what's  become  of  thet 
there  turkle,"  said  Sam  addressing  the  cook. 

"  Yo'  kin  make  yer  dinner  out  ob  bananas 
an'  cocoa  nuts,"  said  the  cook. 

"  An'  not  a  bad  dinner  nuther,"  said  Sam  ; 
"though,  in  course,  turkle  soup  would  be  better." 


152  AMBERGHIS   ISLAND. 


u  It  is  apparent,''  said  Captain  Bracebridge  ; 
"that  something  very  serious  must  have  hap- 
pened to  the  party  left  in  charge  of  the  schooner 
and  to  the  boat's  crew.  The  only  explanation  I 
can  find  of  the  mystery  in  my  own  mind  is  this 
the  island  is  inhabited  —  probably  by  savages. 
They  saw  the  vessel  come  in,  perhaps  from 
some  elevated  point  of  observation.  Then  they 
manned  their  canoes  and  came  around  here. 
Meanwhile  we  had  gone  on  our  tour  of  explo- 
ration, and  had  got  out  of  sight  of  the  vessel  be- 
fore they  reached  her.  They  probably  ap- 
proached the  vessel  making  signs  of  friendship 
and  after  swarming  on  board  either  made  pris- 
oners of  or  massacred  those  in  charge.  The 
boat's  crew  were  probably  surrounded,  and  the 
naturalist,  who  was  near,  made  prisoner  with 
them;  then  they  weighed  the  schooner's  anchor 
and  towed  her  around  to  some  other  part  of  the 
island  with  their  canoes.  That's  the  way  I 
work  it  out.  What  do  you  think  Mr.  Hard- 
man?" 

"  I  think,  Captain  Bracebridge,  that  you  have 
given  a  very  reasonable  explanation  of  the 
matter,"  replied  the  sailing  master. 

4  That  don't  show  how  the  turkle  went  off, 
tnough,"  said  Sam  to  the  cook. 


AMEEKGE1S  ISLAND.  153 

"  We  kin  get  plenty  mo'  turkles,  Sam,"  an- 
swered old  Sted. 

"  But  how  am  I  ter  get  my  gold  watch  an' 
five  hundred  dollars,  if  we  all  get  killed  ? " 
queried  Sam. 

"  Bress  yo'  soul,  I  don'  know,"  said  the  cook' 
with  a  puzzled  expression  of  countenance. 

"  What  do  you  think  we  ought  to  do  ?  "  asked 
Roland,  addressing  Captain  Bracebridge. 

"  Hold  a  council  of  war,"  was  the  reply. 

"  We  may  as  well  hold  it  at  once  then." 

"  The  sooner  the  better.  What  do  you  ad- 
vise Mr.  Hardman?  " 

"  I  advise  the  taking  of  immediate  steps  to 
recover  the  ship  and  those  who  were  left  in 
charge  of  her  if  they  are  alive." 

"  That's  business." 

"  That's  my  advice  also,"  said  Roland. 

"  And  mine,"  said  the  second  lieutenant. 

"  And  mine,"  said  the  lawyer. 

"  We  are  pretty  well  armed,"  said  Captain 
Bracebridge. 

"  And  we  know  how  to  use  our  revolvers," 
said  Roland. 

"  Then,"  said  Fanny,  taking  part  in  the  coun- 


154  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 


cil ;  "  it  only  remains  for  us  to  find  out  where 
the  ship  has  been  taken  to." 

"  Precisely,"  said  Roland  ;  "  are  you  willing 
men  to  make  an  attempt  for  the  recovery  of  the 
ship  if  we  can  find  her?" 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,"  was  the  prompt  reply. 

"  Then  I  propose  that  we  immediately  pro- 
ceed around  the  shore  of  the  island  and  search 
for  her,"  said  he. 

The  party  was  formed  up  in  order,  with  Cap- 
tain Bracebridge  at  the  head.  The  Captain 
had  had  a  large  experience  among  saA^ages  in  his 
time  and  by  common  consent  he  was  given  the 
command  of  the  land  expedition. 

He  nominated  the  sailing  master  as  next  in 
command  and  then  asked  which  direction  they 
ought  to  take. 

"  Proceed  according  to  your  own  judgment," 
said  Roland. 

"  Very  well  then ;  we  will  follow  the  course 
of  the  sun ;  that  is  to  say,  we  will  proceed  to 
the  right  and  follow  the  shore  of  the  island  in 
that  direction." 

"  Before  we  start,  let  us  give  three  cheers  for 
success,"  said  the  sailing  master. 

The  cheers  were  given  and  the  party  started, 


AMBEKGEIS  ISLAND.  155 

Captain  Bracebridge  and  the  sailing  master 
leading  the  way,  the  second  lieutenant  next,  the 
crew  following  and  Roland  and  Fanny  bringing 
up  the  rear. 

"  Our  voyage  is  likely  to  prove  somewhat  ad- 
venturous," said  Fanny. 

"I  expected  no  less  on  starting  out,"  said  Ro- 
land, "but  I  never  contemplated  losing  the  ship 
in  this  way.  I  would  not  take  it  so  much  to 
heart  if  the  object  of  the  expedition  had  been 
accomplished.  But  if  the  ship  is  not  recovered 
ho\v  can  I  continue  my  search  for  my  father?" 

"  We  must  make  the  best  of  it,"  said  Fanny 
soothingly  ;  "  everything  may  turn  out  right." 

"  I  hope  so,"  said  Roland  ;  "  but — " 

"  There's  a  canoe  !  "  cried  Sam. 

"Where?" 

"  Roundin'  that  there  point  an'  she's  full  of 
niggers  —  no,  not  niggers — beg  yer  parding 
old  Sted.  She's  full  of  Wahoos." 

Sam  was  right,  a  large  canoe  filled  with 
islanders  had  rounded  the  point  and  was  now 
making  for  the  party. 

"  Look  to  your  arms,"  said  Captain  Brace- 
bridge. 


150  AMBERGKIS   ISLAND. 


CHAPTER  TWENTIETH. 

THE  KING  OP  THE  ISLAND. 

The  canoe  approached  rapidly. 

As  she  neared,  it  was  seen  that  a  white  man 
occupied  a  place  at  the  stern. 

His  face  was  strange  and  it  was  apparent  that 
he  was  not  of  the  party  of  the  Star  of  the  Sea, 
though  he  was  dressed  in  sailor's  costume. 

"  This  may  be  one  of  my  father's  crew,"  said 
Roland,  as  his  eyes  fell  upon  the  white  man. 

"  Very  likely,"  said  Captain  Bracebridge ; 
"  but  we  are  not  going  to  be  caught  napping, 
for  all  that.  Ready  all  with  your  revolvers.  If 
the  savages  make  any  hostile  demonstrations 
fire  when  you  get  the  word  of  command  from 
me  and  be  sure  of  your  aim  when  you  fire." 

The  canoe  now  touched  the  beach,  and  the 
white  man  springing  lightly  from  his  place  at 
the  stern  ran  to  her  bow  and  jumped  on  shore. 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  157 


He  approached  the  party. 

"Stand!"  exclaimed  Captain  Bracebridge ; 
"  who  are  you  ?  " 

"  The  man  halted  and  said  — " 

"I  am  the  king  of  Ambergris  Island!  " 

"  The  king  of  Ambergris  Island,"  exclaimed 
Roland. 

"  Yes." 

"More  canoes  a-comin?"  said  Sam. 

Half  a  dozen  more  canoes  rounded  the 
point.  Each  was  crowded  with  islanders. 

"Yes,"  said  the  king  of  the  island  waving 
his  hand  in  the  direction  of  the  approaching  ca- 
noes ;  "  and  more  following  them.  My  fleet  is 
large  and  well  manned.  It  is  true  the  vessels 
of  my  navy  are  not  iron-clads,  but  they  are  suffi- 
cient for  all  purposes  of  defence.  Yon  coral 
reefs,"  he  added  pointing  to  the  white  line  of 
breakers,  scarcely  discernible  in  the  distance, 
"  are  my  batteries.  They  furnish  a  better  de- 
fence than  the  forts  and  heavy  guns  with  which 
civilized  nations  defend  their  harbors." 

"  You  are  not  a  native  of  the  island  ?  "  said 
Captain  Bracebridge. 

"  No  ;  I  am  an  American ;  or,  rather,  I  was 
an  American.  Now  I  am  a  South  Sea  Islander 
and  a  king." 


158  AMBEEGEIS  ISLAND. 

"  You  seem  to  have  a  large  number  of  sub- 
jects too,"  said  Roland,  as  half  a  dozen  more  ca- 
noes hove  in  sight. 

"  Yes/'  said  the  king  somewhat  proudly : 
44  and  loyal  ones." 

"  You  have  seized  our  ship  and  those  who 
were  left  in  charge  of  her !  "  said  Captain 
Bracebridge. 

"  Yes." 

"  With  what  intentions  ?  " 

44  That  depends  on  circumstances." 

"  We  haven't  offered  you  any  offence  that  I 
am  aware  of." 

"  You  have  invaded  my  dominions." 

"  We  had  no  idea  that  the  place  was  inhab- 
ited." 

"  But  it  is,  you  see." 

"  Yes,  I  see  it  is.  But  we  had  an  important 
purpose  in  view  in  coming  here." 

44 1  know  ;  you  came  here  foi  ambergris." 

44  You  are  mistaken." 

44  What  ?  didn't  you  come  here  for  ambergris?" 

44  We  did  not.  We  came  here  hoping  to  suc- 
cor a  ship-wrecked  crew." 

44  And  was  that  really  your  object  ?  " 

44  It  was." 

» 

44  Your  only  object?  " 


AMBEKGRIS   ISLAND.  159 

"  Our  only  object." 

"  I  am  satisfied.  Your  story  confirms  that 
told  me  by  the  officer  left  in  charge  of  your  ves- 
sel. I  am  satisfied." 

The  king  of  the  island  turned,  shouted  some 
words  in  a  strange  language  and  all  the  canoes 
save  the  one  in  which  he  had  come  paddled 
away  back  in  the  direction  from  which  they  ap- 
proached. 

"  It  was  my  intention,"  added  the  king,  "to 
make  prisoners  of  you  and  destroy  your  ship  if 
your  object  in  coming  here  was  to  search  for 
ambergris,  but  as  you  have  come  here  on  an  er- 
rand of  mercy,  you  shall  be  my  guests  instead  of 
my  prisoners.  Your  ship  and  those  left  in 
charge  of  her  are  all  right.  The  vessel  is  safely 
moored  in  Paradise  Cove  just  around  the  point 
here.  If  you  will  get  into  the  canoe  you  will 
be  rowed  around  to  her  in  a  few  minutes  — 
come  — " 

So  saying  the  king  turned  to  lead  the  way  to 
the  canoe. 

"  I  don't  like  to  show  distrust  of  any  one," 
said  Captain  Bracebridge  ;  "but  I  would  like  to 
ask  you  before  we  go  on  board  of  the  canoe,  if 
you  are  honest  in  asking  us  to  become  your 


160  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 


guests.  Answer  me  as  between  man  and  man 
do  you  mean  well  by  us  ?  " 

"  I  do,"  said  the  stranger  ;  "  believe  me  I  have 
none  but  the  kindest  intentions  in  asking  you  to 
go  on  board  of  the  canoe.  You  are  armed  ? 
keep  your  arms.  Have  them  ready.  If  you 
are  assailed,  use  them.  Are  you  satisfied?" 

"  Perfectly ;  go  ahead." 

The  party  went  on  board  of  the  canoe  and  in 
a  few  minutes  rounded  the  point,  when  a  beau- 
tiful scene  burst  upon  their  view. 

On  a  smooth  green  slope  several  hundred 
acres  in  extent  which  stretched  away  from  a 
white  sandy  beach  inland  to  where  it  met  the 
umbrageous  forest,  large  flocks  of  sheep  and 
goats  were  grazing. 

The  greensward  was  spangled  with  beautiful 
flowers  of  every  hue  and  the  forest  behind  was 
a  mass  of  rich  coloring,  the  leading  tints  being 
crimson,  purple,  green  and  gold. 

Groups  of  children  were  observed  playing 
among  the  goats  and  sheep.  Large  numbers  of 
women  were  seen  on  the  shore  and  hundreds  of 
the  same  sex  were  disporting  themselves  like 
mermaids  in  the  water. 

Gigantic  whales  and  fishes  of  all  kinds  were 
seen  swimming  close  to  the  shore  and  they 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  161 

seemed  to  be  playing  and  enjoying  themselves 
as  much  as  the  female  islanders.  About  fifty 
canoes  were  drawn  up  in  line  close  to  the  beach 
all  filled  with  men  and  about  one  hundred  yards 
from  the  shore  the  Star  of  the  Sea  lay  moored 
her  sails  all  furled  and  everything  trim  and  taut 
about  her.  and  looking  as  handsome  and  as 
saucy  as  she  ever  did. 

"  She  is  a  beauty,1'  said  the  king  looking  at 
the  vessel. 

"She  is,"  said  Roland  enthusiastically,  as  he 
gazed  admiringly  upon  the  graceful  hull  and 
tapering  spars  of  the  schooner. 

"  Where  was  she  built  ?  "  inquired  the  king. 

"In  Boston." 

"  I  know  that  place,1'  said  the  king  of  the  is- 
land bitterly.  "I  know  it,"  he  continued 
grinding  his  teeth,  "  and  I  wish  that  I  could 
burn  it." 

Roland  stared  in  surprise,  but  said  nothing. 

They  now  reached  the  Star  of  the  Sea  and 
went  on  board. 

Roland  found  all  safe. 

"  I  took  your  people  by  surprise,"  said  the 
king  to  Roland ;  "  I  approached  them  with 
friendly  signs  and  they  allowed  me  to  go  on 
board.  While  I  engaged  your  people  in  con- 


162  AMBEEGEIS  ISLAND. 

versation  my  islanders  quietly  took  possession 
of  the  ship.  Resistance  would  have  been  useless 
anyhow." 

"  However,  if  I  had  suspected  unfriendly  in- 
tentions said  Jack  Macpherson ;  "  they  should 
have  had  a  broadside." 

"  But  we  should  have  overpowered  you  in  the 
end,"  laughed  the  king. 

The  naturalist  was  found  in  the  grand  saloon 
conversing  voluably  with  some  of  the  islanders 
in  their  own  language  and  showing  them  the 
piano,  organ  and  other  curiosities  which  they 
gazed  upon  with  wonder. 

"  Did  you  fit  out  this  ship  purposely  for  this 
voyage  ? "  asked  the  king  addressing  Captain 
Bracebridge. 

"  Certainly,"  replied  the  Captain ;  "  at  least 
my  young  friend  here  did.  He  is  her  owner 
and  the  actual  commander  of  the  expedition,  al- 
though M.  Hardman  here  is  the  commander  of 
the  vessel  at  sea." 

"  Yes,"  said  Roland ;  "  I  had  this  voyage  in 
contemplation  for  years." 

"  I  must  say  that  you  made  every  provision 
for  comfort,"  said  the  king  looking  around  the 
grand  saloon.  "I  never  saw  a  ship  fitted  up 
so  luxuriously." 


AMRERGE1S  ISLAND.  163 

"  She  was  intended  for  a  yacht,"  said  Roland; 
but  we  had  her  slightly  altered  for  the  voyage." 

l>  A  man  might  sail  around  the  world  in  a 
craft  like  this,"  said  the  king  musingly  as  he 
glanced  at  Fanny. 

4  I  expect  to  sail  around  the  world  in  her," 
said  Roland  crossing  to  Fanny's  side  ;  "we  came 
here  by  way  of  Cape  Horn.  We  shall,  if  our 
voyage  is  successful,  return  by  way  of  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope." 

"  What  ship  are  you  in  search  of?  " 

"  The  Stormy  Petrel,  commanded  by  Captain 
Ralph  Ranger." 

"What!  the  Stormy  Petrel !" 

As  he  gave  utterance  to  this  ejaculation  the 
king  of  the  island  turned  pale  and  his  aspect 
grew  terribly  stern. 

"  Yes,  the  Stormy  Petrel.  You  must  know 
something  of  her,  for  we  have  discovered  the 
graves  of  some  of  her  crew  on  this  island." 

"  You  are  in  search  of  Captain  Ralph  Ran- 
ger ?  "  said  the  king. 

"  I  am." 

"  Who  are  you  ?  " 

"  I  am  Roland  Ranger,  his  son." 

"  You  are  ! "  shouted  the  king  of  the  island, 
raising  his  hand  as  if  he  would  strike  Roland  — 


164  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

then  he  paused,  turned  around  and  shouted  : 
"  Ha  !  ha  !  my  revenge  will  be  more  complete 

than  I  thought." 

So  saying  he  dashed  out  of  the  saloon  leaving 

the  people  of  the   Star  of  the  Sea  gazing  after 

him  in  astonishment. 


9 

AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  165 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIRST. 

MADE  PRISONERS. 

On  reaching  the  deck,  the  king  of  the  island 
made  a  sign  to  the  canoes  laying  along  the 
beach. 

In  a  few  minutes  they  were  alongside,  the 
king  spoke  some  words  in  the  island  tongue  to 
the  natives  and  they  immediately  swarmed  upon 
deck. 

"What  is  the  meaning  of  this?"  asked  Ro- 
land who  had  hastened  from  below. 

"  It  means,"  said  the  king ;  u  that  you  are  my 
prisoners." 

"  Never  !  "  cried  Roland,  drawing  his  revolver 
and  firing  in  the  king's  face.  "  Ho  there,"  he 
shouted,  "  treachery  !  we  are  betrayed  !  " 

Roland's  bullet  cut  off  one  of  the  king's  ears ; 
but  did  not  do  him  further  harm. 

u  Treachery !"  shouted  Roland,  as  he  aimed 
again. 


166  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

But  before  he  could  fire,  he  was  striken  down 
with  a  club  in  the  hands  of  one  of  the  natives 
and  he  fell  senseless  to  the  deck. 

The  crew  were  made  prisoners  in  a  few  mo- 
ments, but  not  before  doing  considerable  dam- 
age among  the  islanders. 

Seven  of  the  latter  lay  dead  upon  the  deck, 
killed  by  the  crew,  who  had  used  their  revolvers 
until  overpowered. 

Captain  Bracebridge  and  the  others  who  were 
below  were  prevented  from  coming  on  deck  to 
take  part  in  the  scrimmage  by  the  islanders,  who 
had  closed  and  secured  all  means  of  egress  from 
the  cabin  and  forecastle. 

"  Caught  like  rats  in  a  trap !"  Captain  Brace- 
bridge  was  heard  to  shout  as  he  vainly  strove 
to  force  his  way  out  of  the  closed  companion- 
way.  "By  the  man  that  made  lanterns,"  he 
roared,  "  if  any  harm  is  done  to  anybody  up 
there,  I'll  fire  the  magazine  and  blow  you  all  to 
the  devil!" 

Roland  had  now  recovered  his  senses,  though 
he  was  faint  and  dizzy. 

He  looked  around  him. 

The  deck  was  swarming  with  natives  and  his 
men  were  all  bound  hand  and  foot  with  ropes 
belonging  to  the  vessel. 


AMBERG1US   ISLAND.  167 

The  king  of  the  island  stood  looking  at  him 
with  a  dark  scowl  on  his  features  and  endeavor- 
ing to  staunch  the  blood  which  flowed  from  his 
wounded  ear. 

"You  are  a  treacherous  hound!"  exclaimed 
Roland,  as  he  made  a  stride  towards  the  king. 

The  king  spoke  some  words  to  the  natives 
and  Roland  was  immediately  seized  and  bound 
in  the  same  manner  as  his  crew 

"  I'll  pay  you  for  that  shot,"  said  the  king  as 
he  strode  up  to  Roland  his  eyes  flashing  dan- 
gerously. 

"  I  expect  you  will,  you  treacherous  coward," 
said  Roland,  as  he  strove  to  burst  his  bonds 
asunder;  "you  seem  to  have  some  grudge 
against  your  race." 

"  I  have  ;  an  eternal  grudge  against  the  race 
of  the  Rangers." 

"  What  did  they  ever  do  to  you  ?  "  asked  Ro- 
land. 

"  Are  you  there,  Roland? "  called  Captain 
Bracebridge  from  below. 

"  Ay,"  answered  Roland;  "I'm  all  right  Cap- 
tain, though  a  prisoner." 

"  Is  that  blasted  king  as  he  calls  himself, 
there  too  ?  " 

"  He  is." 


168  AMBERGKIS  ISLAND. 

"  Are  any  of  our  men  hurt  ?" 

"  No,  not  one  of  them,  but  like  myself  they 
are  all  prisoners." 

"  Anybody  hurt  on  the  other  side  ?" 

"  Seven  of  them  dead." 

"Bully  for  the  Star  of  the  Sea.  I  wish  I 
could  get  out  to  assist  you.  Say,  Roland,  what's 
that  fellow's  intentions?  D'ye  think  he  means 
to  massacre  us  all  ?  " 

"  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  of  it.  I  think 
that  is  in  his  line." 

"  Then  by  the  man  that  made  lanterns,  I'll 
fire  the  magazine  !  Here  goes  !  " 

"Hold  on,''  cried  Roland. 

"  Well,  what's  the  matter?" 

"  Remember  Fanny." 

"  I  do ;  better  for  her  to  be  blown  up  with 
us  than  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  that  fellow." 

"You  are  right  —  go  ahead.  Fire  your  re- 
volver into  the  magazine." 

"  He  wont  do  it,"  said  the  king. 

"  He  will,"  said  Roland,  "  and  you'll  go  up 
with  us,  I  am  happy  to  say,  for  you  haven't 
time  to  escape  now." 

Fanny's  voice  was  now  heard  at  the  compan- 
ionway. 

"  Roland,"  said  she. 


AMREKGR1S   ISLAND.  169 


"  Yes,  dear  Fanny." 

u  Father's  going  to  blow  up  the  ship.  Good 
bye  dear  Roland." 

"  Good  bye  darling  —  good  bye  Fanny.  You 
know  what  I  was  going  to  tell  you." 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  knew  it  all  along.  Good  bye 
dear  Roland." 

The  king  whose  cheek  had  grown  pale  while 
these  farewell  words  were  being  spoken,  noAv 
turned  to  the  natives  and  spoke  some  words. 

They  opened  the  companion  doors  and  drag- 
ged Fanny  out  on  deck. 

She  uttered  a  loud  scream  when  she  found 
herself  in  the  hands  of  the  islanders.  Captain 
Bracebridge,  who  had  been  telling  those  below 
what  he  intended  to  do  heard  the  scream  and 
rushed  on  deck. 

He  was  immediately  seized  and  bound. 

"  Fire  the  magazine  !"  he  shouted  down  the 
stairway. 

But  the  savages  were  now  pouring  down  the 
companionway  by  scores.  Obedient  to  the  or- 
ders of  their  king  the}-  attacked  and  overpow- 
ered the  people  below  —  all  but  the  naturalist. 
They  left  him  free.  lie  could  speak  their  lan- 
guage and  they  would  not  assail  him. 


170  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

"  Will  nobody  fire  the  magazine  ?"  roared 
Captain  Bracebridge. 

"  The  magazine  will  be  fired  soon  enough,*' 
said  the  king  of  the  island  with  a  malignant 
smile.  "  After  I  have  cleared  the  ship  of  my 
islanders  and  taken  this  young  lady  on  shore 
the  magazine  will  be  fired  according  to  your 
wishes." 

Roland  groaned. 

This  then  was  what  it  had  come  to. 

Fanny  was  in  the  hands  of  this  island  king. 
He  had  declared  his  intention  to  take  her  on 
shore  and  they  were  to  be  left  to  be  blown  up 
with  the  ship. 

The  prospect  was  a  bitter  one  to  contemplate. 

Strange  to  say  the  islanders  had  not  bound 
the  cook  and  Sam. 

The  former  was  akin  to  themselves  and  the 
latter  they  probably  thought  too  small  to  be  of- 
fensive. 

"You  can't  never  trust  these  Wahoos,"  said 
Sam  as  he  and  the  cook  sat  together  in  the  gal- 
ley. 

"  Tain't  de  Wahoos,"  said  the  cook  ;  "  it  am 
dat  yar  white  man  out  dar.  Dat  man  am  what's 
got  to  bewar'  ob  in  dis  yer  islan';  yo'  heah  me. 
Put  a  pin  dar  !" 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  171 

"  Well,  you  an'  me  is  free,  an'  I  guess  we  kin 
reskie  this  yer  ship  out  of  the  hands  of  this  yer 
king  and  his  Wahoos." 

"  How  kin  we  .do  dat  ?  Show  de  way,  an'  ole 
Sted.  am  ready  to  go  ahead.  Show  de  way 
Sam." 

"  Well,  yer  see,  when  we  wuz  a-comin'  in  ter 
the  island  Tom  Carl  loaded  up  all  ther  guns 
with  grape.  Thet  there  bow  chaser  is  loaded 
up  ter  ther  muzzle.  Ef  you  an'  me  kin  git  her 
turned  around  we  kin  blow  that  king  an'  his 
Wahoos  sky  high." 

"  It  am  wurf  de  tryin'  Sam,"  said  the  cook. 
We'll  take  a  look  aroun'  and  see  how  de  Ian' 
lies." 

Meanwhile  another  scene  was  taking  place 
aft. 


172  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SECOND. 

A  TERRIBLE  REVENGE. 

"Now,"  said  the  king,  when  he  announced 
his  purpose  of  taking  Fanny  on  shore  and  after- 
wards blowing  up  the  ship  with  her  people  on 
board;  ''before  I  leave  yon  I  will  tell  you  why 
my  friendliness  was  changed  to  hostility,  why, 
instead  of  making  you  my  guests,  I  have  made 
you  my  prisoners :" 

"Fifteen  years  ago  I  lived  in  Boston.  One 
night  while  passing  along  Chelsea  bridge  I 
heard  a  cry  of  murder.  I  hastened  in  the  di- 
rection from  which  the  cry  came  and  saw  a  man 
bending  over  the  prostrate  form  of  another." 

"The  man  who  was  bending  over  the  other 
fled  at  my  approch.  I  hastened  to  the  prostrate 
man  and  stooped  to  lift  him  up." 

' '  I  had  just  put  my  arms  around  his  neck  when 
a  couple  of  policemen  came  up  and  seized  me." 

"One  of  them  struck  me  down  with  his  billv 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  173 

and  the  other  placed  a  pair  of  handcuffs  on  my 
wrists." 

'•One  of  them  took  charge  of  the  prostrate 
man  and  the  other,  notwithstanding  my  expos- 
tulations and  explanations,  dragged  me  to  a  po- 
lice station  where  I  was  put  in  a  cell." 

Next  day  I  was  arraigned  on  a  chanre  of  hi^h- 

«/  O  O  o 

way  robbery  with  violence,  and  the  Dogberry 
who  sat  upon  the  bench  smiled  at  my  explana- 
tion of  the  affair  and  sent  me  for  trial  before  a 
higher  court." 

"At  the  trial  the  man  whom  I  had  rescued 
from  his  assailant  swore  that  I  was  the  person 
who  attacked  him." 

"I  was  found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  the 
state  prison  for  five  years." 

"My  conduct  was  good  while  I  was  in  prison, 
and  some  benevolent  persons  interesting  them- 
selves in  my  behalf,  I  was  pardoned  after  serv- 
ing out  three  years  of  my  sentence." 

"When  I  came  out  of  prison  I  swore  to  be 
revenged  upon  the  man  who  had  assisted  to  im- 
prison me  by  swearing  I  was  the  person  who 
attacked  him." 

"That  man  was  a  sea  captain  and  his  name 
was  Ralph  Ranger." 


174  AMBEBGEIS   ISLAND. 

"Good  heaven  !  exclaimed  Roland. 

"I  shipped  on  board  of  a  South  Sea  whaler," 
continued  the  king  of  the  island,  without  no- 
ticing the  interruption;  "she  was  wrecked  in 
these  seas.  I  was  the  only  one  of  her  crew 
saved.  After  drifting  about  for  several  days 
on  a  spar,  I  was  picked  up  by  these  islanders, 
who  made  me  their  king." 

"They  did  not  occupy  this  island  at  that  time, 
but  another  and  much  larger  one  thirty  leagues 
south,  south  west  of  this." 

"Thirty  leagues  south,  south  west,"  mur- 
mured Roland. 

"But  they  told  me  about  this  island  and  of 
the  remarkable  circumstance  of  its  being  a  sort 
of  hospital  ground  for  fish." 

"I  visited  it  with  a  fleet  of  canoes  and  found 
it  was  the  famous  ambergris  island  that  I  had 
heard  whalemen  speak  of. " 

"I  took  possession  of  the  island  and  estab- 
lished a  settlement  here." 

"One  day  a  vessel  discovered  the  entrance 
to  the  island  through  the  coral  reef,  came  in 
here  and  dropped  her  anchor.  I  kept  my  is- 
landers out  of  sight  until  she  had  loaded  up 
with  ambergris,  and  then  I  paid  her  a  visit  with 


AMBEEGEIS  ISLAND.  175 

the  intention  of  demanding,  as  pay  for  the  load, 
such  tools  and  weapons  as  I  knew  would  be  use- 
ful to  me. " 

"What  was  my  joy  to  discover  that  the  ves- 
sel was  the  Stormy  Petrel,  commanded  by  the 
man  who  had  sworn  away  my  liberty  and  with 
it  all  rny  hopes  of  a  useful  career  among  my 
kind."  " 

"I  made  prisoners  of  Captain  Ranger  and  his 
crew  and  burned  their  vessel  before  their  eyes." 

"Captain  Ranger  and  such  of  his  crew  who 
are  alive  are  still  my  prisoners,  and  I  intend 
that  prisoners  they  shall  remain." 

"The  only  desire  I  ever  had  to  return  to  civ- 
ilization was  to  get  a  wife.  I  have  often 
thought  of  doing  that  and  intended  at  no  distant 
day  to  build  a  large  canoe  and  sail  for  the  coast 
of  South  America  for  that  purpose,  taking  as 
much  ambergris  with  me  MS  would  enable  me  to 
fit  out  out  a  large  vessel  for  my  return." 

"You  have  saved  me  the  trouble  ;  this 
young  lady  whom  you  have  brought  with  you 
will  suit  me.  I  could  not  find  one  more  beau- 
tiful if  I  searched  the  world  over." 

"You  now  know  why  I  hate  the  race  of  the 
Rangers  and  all  who  have  anything  to  do  with 


176  AMBEKGKIS  ISLAND. 

them.  And  now  if  you  still  wish  to  be  blown 
up  I  will  be  very  glad  to  accommodate  you." 

"You  surely  cannot  be  so  cruel  as  to  think 
of  forcing  that  young  lady  to  be  your  wife 
against  her  will,"  said  Eoland. 

"That's  a  question.  Perhaps  the  young  lady 
may  not  object  to  becoming  a  queen." 

"A  queen  !"  exclaimed  Fanny  tossing  her 
head;  a  nice  lot  of  subjects  I'd  have." 

"Very  well  Miss  Disdain,"  said  the  island 
king  ;  "we  will  see  what  you  will  think  of  your 
subjects  after  a  year  or  two,  for  I  sw^ear  by 
heaven  that  you  shall  be  my  wife  and  willingly 
too.  I  give  you  your  choice  to  become  my 
wife  or  to  see  this  vessel  and  all  belonging  to 
her,  except  yourself,  blown  into  the  air. 

"Good  heavens  !"  exclaimed  Fanny  ;  "what 
a  dreadful  alternative  !" 


AMBEKGK1S  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER   TWENTY-THIRD. 

A   STKANGE   WEDDING. 

"  Don't  consent,  Fanny,"  said  Captain  Brace- 
bridge. 

"  Never  !"  said  Fanny  firmly  ;  "let  him  blow 
you  up  ;  I  will  find  some  means  to  kill  myself." 

"I'll  take  care  of  that,"  said  the  king  of  the 
island ;  "  I'll  surround  you  by  a  body  guard  of 
native  women  who  will  never  let  you  out  of 
their  sight  except  when  I  am  with  you." 

"  Is  there  no  feeling  in  your  heart  for  the  race 
to  which  you  belong?"  asked  Lawyer  Hopkins. 

"What  race  is  that?" 

"  I  might  say  the  human  race,  but  I  mean 
more  particularly  civilized  people  —  Americans 
for  instance." 

"  How  would  you  have  felt  if  }^ou  had  been 
imprisoned  for  three  years  and  had  committed 
no  crime — had  been  imprisoned,  in  fact,  for 
succoring  a  fellow  creature  ?  " 

"We  are  told  to  forgive  injuries." 


178  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

"  Ay,  it  is  easy  to  say  forgive  when  you  have 
not  suffered.  The  race  you  speak  of  put  a 
mark  upon  me  as  bad  as  the  mark  of  Cain. 
It  made  me  an  outcast,  put  me  in  prison,  and 
then  released  me  with  the  tag  of  a  convict  at- 
tached to  me." 

"  It  was  a  mistake." 

"  Well,  people  have  to  suffer  for  their  mis- 
takes, I  am  going  to  make  you  suffer  for  the 
mistake  your  fellow  citizens  made  when  they 
transformed  me  from  a  respectable  young  man 
into  a  convict  —  a  state  prison  bird  as  they 
call  it." 

"  But  we  have  not  injured  you." 

"  I  had  not  injured  society,  but  it  put  its 
strong,  cowardly  hand  upon  me  and  crushed 
me.  What  are  you  ?  a  minister  ?  " 

"  No  ;  I  am  a  lawyer." 

"  A  lawyer !  ha  !  ha  !  good !  good  !  The  dis- 
trict attorney,  one  Israel  Hopkins,  whose  elo- 
quent denunciation  of  my  crime  and  declaration 
that  the  evidence  had  fastened  it  upon  me,  was 
a  lawyer.  I  wish  I  had  him  here  now,  but  you 
will  do  as  a  substitute." 

The  island  king  spoke  some  words  to  his  fol- 
lowers ;  they  placed  a  rope  around  the  neck  of 
the  lawyer. 


AMBERGBIS   ISLAND.  179 


"  Good  heavens  !  You  are  not  going  to  hang 
me  in  cold  blood !  "  exclaimed  the  terrified  law- 
yer. 

"  But  I  am,"  screamed  the  king  of  the  island, 
"  I  am  going  to  hang  you.  What  do  you  say 
about  cold  blood  ?  I  was  made  a  convict  in 
cold  blood.  But  my  blood  is  hot  now.  I  am 
on  fire  with  hatred  for  all  your  race  —  ah !  I 
have  an  idea." 

He  spoke  again  to  the  natives.  They  placed  a 
rope  around  the  neck  of  Captain  Bracebridge. 

The  ropes  were  carried  to  blocks  in  the  main 
rigging. 

"  Now,"  exclaimed  the  island  king,  "  we  will 
have  a  wedding." 

"A  what?  "  exclaimed  Roland. 

"  A  wedding.  You  shall  see.  Now  Mr.  Law- 
yer, you  shall  marry  me.  Come  here,  Miss  Dis- 
dain. Don't  refuse  ;  if  you  hang  back  I  will 
give  the  word  and  up  goes  your  father." 

"  O,  heavens  you  cannot  be  so  cruel,"  sobbed 
Fanny.  "  My  dear,  dear,  father." 

"  Let  him  go  ahead  Fanny  !  let  him  hang 
me,"  cried  Captain  Bracebridge;  "keep  back 
from  the  villain." 

"  Come  here  Miss,  quick,  or  by  all  that's  good 
or  bad,  I  will  have  your  father  strung  up." 


180  AMBEKGRIS   ISLAND. 


Fanny  approached  the  king,  trembling  and 
sobbing. 

"  Give  me  your  hand,"  he  said. 

"  Don't,  Fanny,"  said  Captain  Braeebridge. 

"  If  you  don't  he  hangs,"  said  the  king 
sternly. 

Fanny  gave  him  her  hand, 

The  king  drew  a  ring  from  his  finger. 

"  Now,  Mr.  Lawyer,"  said  he  with  a  leer, 
"you  are  a  justice  of  the  peace  aint  you?  " 

"  I  am,"  replied  the  lawyer. 

"  Then  go  ahead  and  marry  me  to  this  young 
lady  or  up  you  go  as  high  as  the  main  gaff, 

"Don't  speak  a  word,"  shouted  Captain  Brace- 
bridge. 

"  Go  ahead  ! "  roared  the  king  of  the  island. 

"  What  is  your  name  ?  "  asked  the  lawyer  in 
a  trembling  voice. 

"  Daniel  Spencer,"  said  the  king ;  "  that  is 
my  name.  Now  go  ahead,  and  110  faltering 
Miss,  or  your  father  is  a  dead  man." 

"  Not  a  word,"  cried  Captain  Braeebridge, 

Roland  ground  his  teeth. 

The  king  made  a  sign  and  the  ropes  around 
the  throat  of  the  Captain  and  the  lawyer  were 
drawn  tight. 


AMBEKGBIS   ISLAND.  181 

"Now,"  said  the  king  grimly;  "is  it  to  be  a 
wedding  or  a  hanging  ?  " 

"  Go  on,  Mr.  Hopkins,"  said  Fanny,  while  the 
tears  rolled  down  her  cheeks. 

"What's  that?"  cried  the  king,  "Mr.  Hop- 
kins !  " 

"  Ah  !  Miss  Fanny  you  have  ruined  me,"  said 
the  lawyer. 

"  By  heaven  it  is  him  !  cried  the  king ;  I 
thought  his  face  was  familiar.  So  you  are  the 
District  Attorney  who  urged  my  conviction  so 
eloquently.  Better  and  better !  You  and  I  will 
square  accounts  by  and  by  Mr.  Hopkins  —  but 
let  this  wedding  go  on  —  Hurry  up !  " 

"  Daniel  Spencer,"  said  the  trembling  lawyer  ; 
"  do  you  take  Fanny  Bracebridge  to  be  your  law- 
ful wedded  wife  ?  " 

"I  do,"  answered  the  king. 

"  Fanny  Bracebridge  do  you  take  Daniel  Spen- 
cer to  be  your  lawful  wedded  husband  ?  " 

"  I  do,"  sobbed  Fanny. 

"  Then  I  pronounce  you  man  and  wife." 

As  the  lawyer  concluded,  Fanny  fainted. 

Stooping  the  king  pressed  the  ring  upon  Fan- 
ny's finger  and  rising  said  with  a  dark  smile  — 

"  This  marriage  is  legal  enough  for  me." 

"  Hallo  !  "  exclaimed  Sam  who  with  the  cook 


182  AMBERGEIS  ISLAND. 

was  in  the  bow  of  the  vessel.     "  Hallo  !  a  sail !  " 

"Whereaway?"  asked  Roland. 

The  vessel  was  moored  with  her  head  to  land 
and  Sam  pointed  directly  astern. 

"  By  jinks !  "  exclaimed  Sam,  "  it  is  a  sail  too 
and  it  aint  a  sail  nuther,  it's  a  steamer." 

Far  away  at  sea  a  large  steamer  was  seen  ev- 
idently approaching  the  island. 

Sam  had  seen  no  sail  when  he  spoke  first. 
His  intention  was  to  direct  the  attention  of  the 
king  and  the  natives  away  from  the  bow  of  the 
vessel. 

He  was  more  successful  than  he  hoped,  for 
even  as  he  spoke,  a  vessel  came  within  the  range 
of  vision. 

While  those  aft  were  straining  their  eyes  to 
make  out  the  character  of  the  vessel,  Sam  and 
old  Sted.  trained  the  bow  chaser. 

"  Let  me  lay  her  on  fur  thet  there  king  of 
spades,"  said  Sam. 

The  gun  was  trained  until  Sam  had  obtained 
an  aim. 

"Now  then,"  he  whispered,  "stand  aside  old 
Sted.  till  I  takes  command  of  this  yer  ship." 

"  Throw  up  yer  hands  king  !  "  Sam  shouted. 

The  king  turned  and  beheld  the  muzzle  of  the 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  183 

bow  chaser  confronting  him,  while  Sam  held  the 
lanyard  attached  to  the  fuze  ready  to  fire. 

"  Throw  up  yer  hands  king!  she's  loaded  with 
grape  I " 


184  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 


CHAPTEK  TWENTY-FOURTH. 

ANOTHER  EXPEDITION. 

About  five  weeks  after  the  sailing  of  the  Star 
of  the  Sea,  a  steamer  one  day  entered  Boston 
harbor. 

She  was  a  singular  looking  vessel,  being 
without  masts. 

Nothing  was  seen  above  her  bulwarka  except 
the  smokestack,  and  some  dome  looking  struc- 
tures formed  of  glass. 

Her  hull  was  long  and  rakish,  she  sat  low  in 
the  water  and  she  seemed  to  have  been  built 
for  speed. 

" That's  one  of  the  new  order  of  steamships," 
said  one  Boston  pilot  to  another  ;  "what  they 
call  domed  steamships.1' 

The  vessel  steamed  slowly  up  the  harbor  and 
anchored  off  the  Cunard  wharves. 

A  boat  was  lowered  from  the  vessel's  stern 
and  an  old  man,  with  white  hair,  but  seemingly 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  185 

strong  and  vigorous,  went  clown  the  side  and 
took  his  seat  in  the  stern  sheets. 

He  gave  some  directions  and  the  boat  was 
rowed  to  the  end  of  Lewis  wharf,  where  the 
old  gentleman  landed. 

The  boat  was  then  rowed  back  to  the  vessel. 

Going  up  the  wharf,  the  old  gentleman  took 
an  Atlantic  Avenue  car,  and  rode  up  to  the  old 
State  House.  There  he  left  the  car  and  going 
up  to  the  corner  of  Cornhill  and  Washington 
Streets  took  another  on  the  Boston  and  Lynn 
horse  railroad. 

After  riding  out  to  one  of  the  handsomest 
streets  in  Chelsea,  he  left  the  car  and  proceed- 
ed to  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Ranger,  which  was 
situated  on  the  street  referred  to. 

"Why,  uncle  Roland,"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Ran- 
ger when  she  entered  the  room  where  the  old 
gentleman  awaited  her  coming. 

It  was  indeed  no  other  than  old  Roland  Ran- 
ger the  rich  Philadelphia  ship  owner. 

"I  have  tidings  of  your  son,"  he  said;  "he 
is  well ;  all  on  board  are  well.  The  Star  of 
the  Sea  saved  the  crew  of  one  of  my  ships 
which  was  burned  on  the  Equator  and  all  hands 
except  the  captain  —  your  old  friend  Captain 


186  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

Bracebridge  and  his  daughter — have  reached 
Galveston  in  safety." 

"I  am  sorry  to  learn  that  misfortune  has  hap- 
pened to  Captain  Bracebridge,  and  glad  that 
the  Star  of  the  Sea  has  been  instrumental  in 
saving  life,"  said  Mrs.  Ranger. 

"Yes;  she  has  started  out  well,  but  she  is  a 
small  vessel  and  I  am  not  so  certain  that  she 
will  continue  to  prosper  throughout  her  voyage. 
The  fact  is,  Clara,  I  am  going  after  her." 

"You?" 

"Yes  ;  I  have  had  a  superb  vessel  construct- 
ed according  to  new  plans.  She  is  a  large 
steamer,  without  masts  or  sails.  I  have  man- 
ned her  with  a  crew  of  thirty-five  men,  armed 
her  with  ten  heavy  guns,  and  provisioned  her 
for  three  years.  I  am  going  in  search  of  the 
ambergris  island,  and  if  it  is  to  be  found  I  will 
find  it  with  such  a  vessel.  I  will  overtake  the 
Star  of  the  Sea  or  at  least  come  up  with  her  by 
about  the  time  she  reaches  the  island,  if  there 
is  such  an  island." 

"When  do  you  start?" 

"To-day." 

"To-day?" 

"Yes ;  the  vessel  is  now  laying  in  Boston  Har- 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  187 

bor.  I  brought  her  around  from  Philadelphia 
with  one  object  in  view — to  let  you  see  her." 

"How  good  of  you  !  Do  you  think  you  will 
overtake  Roland  ?" 

"I  will  at  least  find  him  at  the  island." 

"Then  I  will  go  with  you." 

"You!" 

"Yes." 

"But,  my  dear  Clara — " 

"There  are  no  buts  about  it,  uncle  Roland. 
I  will  accompany  you.  Why  not?  I  am  a  sail- 
or's wife,  what  should  I  stay  on  shore  for,  when 
all  my  interests  are  at  sea  ?  " 

"That's  true,  but  then  how  long  will  it  take 
you  to  get  ready  ?" 

"An  hour." 

"You'll  want  to  take  a  woman  or  a  girl  with 
yon." 

"Til  take  two:  they  are  here;  they  urged 
me  to  go  on  Roland's  expedition  and  said  they 
were  willing  to  accompany  me." 

Mrs.  Ranger  rang  the  bell. 

A  pretty,  tastefully  attired  young  woman 
presented  herself. 

"Where  is  Etta,  Mary?"  Mrs.  Ranger  in- 
quired. 


188  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

"She  is  laying  the  cloth  in  the  dining  room 

rna'am." 

"Please  bring  her  here-" 

"Yes  ma'am ;  did  you  say  bring  her  or  send 
her?" 

"Bring  her ;  I  wish  to  speak  with  you  also.'' 

Both  girls  presented  themselves  in  a  few  mo- 
ments. 

"Mary  and  Etta,"  said  Mrs.  Ranger;  "I 
have  made  up  my  mind  to  go  on  a  voyage  in  a 
large  steamship;  she  is  perfectly  safe  and  the 
voyage  will  be  a  pleasant  one.  Will  you  ac_ 
company  me  ?" 

The  girls  looked  at  each  other. 

"Where  are  you  going,  ma'am?"  asked 
Mary. 

"I  am  going  to  follow  Roland's  expedition." 

"What  do  you  say,  Etta?"  Mary  inquired. 

"What  do  you  say,  Mary?"  asked  Etta. 


"I'm  willing." 


"So  am  I." 

"Then  its  decided.  You  shan't,  regret  it 
girls.  Let  us  get  ready  at  once. "  So  saying 
Mrs.  Ranger  left  the  room  with  the  girls 

"Well,"  said  old  Roland  Ranger  to  himself; 


AMBEBGBIS  ISLAND.  189 

"when  women  decide  to  do  a  thing  they  are  as 
prompt  to  set  about  it  as  men  are.' ' 

Three  hours  later  Mrs.  Ranger  and  her  at- 
tendants were  handed  up  the  side  of  the  Rescue, 
which  was  the  name  of  the  vessel,  and  old  Ro- 
land Ranger  followed  them. 

The  anchor  was  weighed  ;  the  vessel  steamed 
out  of  the  harbor  and  laid  her  course  for  the 
Equator  speeding  at  the  rate  of  twenty  miles 
an  hour. 


190  AMBEEGBIS   ISLAND. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIFTH. 

A  BOLD  ADVENTURE  FOR  LIBERTY. 

For  nine  years  Captain  Ralph  Ranger  had 
been  a  prisoner  on  Eden  Island,  which  was  the 
name  Daniel  Spencer  had  given  it  when  he 
landed  upon  it. 

It  was  thirty  leagues  to  the  south,  south 
west  of  the  ambergris  island  and  the  Captain 
and  his  crew  had  been  conveyed  thither  shortly 
after  being  made  prisoners. 

They  made  occasional  visits  to  the  ambergris 
island  in  company  with  the  king  and  his  sub- 
jects, and  it  was  during  these  occasional  visits 
that  those  of  his  crew  whose  graves  had  been 
discovered  by  Roland's  party  had  died. 

It  seemed  that  the  object  of  the  king  of  the 
island  in  taking  his  prisoners  with  him  when  he 
visited  Ambergris  Island,  was  to  prevent  them 
from  escaping,  fearing  that  in  his  absence  they 
might  attempt  to  do  so. 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  191 

But  as  the  years  rolled  on,  his  vigilance  re- 
laxed and  he  often  visited  the  ambergris  island 
without  taking  his  prisoners  with  him. 

During  one  of  his  visits  to  the  island  Captain 
Hanger  had  found  a  chance  to  visit  the  graves 
of  the  deceased  members  of  his  crew  and  had 
scribbled  the  words  found  by  Koland  in  the 
cigar  box. 

He  had  no  opportunity  to  give  an  explana- 
nation  of  his  circumstances  and  he  thought  that 

o 

the  words,  "thirty  leagues  south,  south  west" 
would  arouse  curiosity  in  any  one  who  might 
find  it  and  send  them  in  that  direction.  He 
wrote  the  warning  to  hasten  visitors  from  the 
ambergris  island  to  Eden  island. 

On  the  present  visit  to  the  ambergris  island 
the  king  had  taken  the  greater  part  of  his  peo- 
ple with  him, but  left  his  prisoners  behind. 

Only  a  few  islanders  remained.  Several  large 
canoes  were  left  and  on  one  of  these  Captain 
Ranger  and  the  survivors  of  his  crew,  four  in 
number,  the  others  being  dead  and  buried  on 
Eden  and  Ambergris  Islands,  resolved  to  make 
their  escape,  hoping  to  fall  in  with  some  vessel 
and  thus  succeed  in  returning  to  civilization. 

They  succeeded  in  eluding  the  vigilance  of 


192  AMBERGHIS  ISLAND. 

the  natives  and  after  storing  their  canoe  with 
such  kinds  of  fruits  and  roots  as  would  be  most 
likely  to  keep  longest,  pushed  off  in  the  night. 

"It  is  a  hundred  chances  to  one,"  said  the 
Captain;  "but,  trusting  in  God,  we  will  take 
the  one  chance/' 

So  they  trusted  their  frail  bark  to  the  bosom 
of  the  mighty  Pacific. 

For  days  they  tossed  about  on  the  ocean. 

Their  provisions  were  soon  exhausted,  though 
of  water  they  had  plenty. 

When  the  last  cocoa  nut  had  been  shared 
Captain  Ranger  said  — 

"Now  let  us  make  a  solemn  vow  that,  come 
what,  may,  we  will  not  be  cannibals,  we  wrill  not 
cast  lots  to  see  who  shall  die  that  the  others 
may  survive." 

The  men  agreed  to  this  and  they  made  a  sol- 
emn promise. 

But  as  the  days  went  by  and  they  began  to 
grow  gaunt  with  hunger,  they  forgot  this  vow. 

They  glared  at  each  other  with  hungry  eyes. 

Captain  Ranger,  however,  maintained  his 
wonted  calmness  and  implored  the  men  to  re- 
spect their  oath. 

He  pointed  out  that  few  civilized  people  were 


AMBERGHIS  ISLAND.  193 

ever  known  to  survive  after  eating  human 
flesh :  they  cither  committed  self-destruction 
or  died  raving  mad. 

But  the  men  were  mad  now — mad  with  hun- 
ger. 

4 'Let  us  cast  lots,"  said  one,  hoarsely. 

"Ay,  ay,  let  us  cast  lots,"  said  the  others. 

"Leave  me  out  then,"  said  the  Captain. 

' 'No,  no,"  said  they  ;  "you've  got  to  take 
your  chance  with  the  rest  of  us." 

The  Captain  said  no  more. 

They  cast  lots  and  the  lot  fell  on  Captain 
Ranger. 

•"Well,"  said  he  resignedly:  "I  would  wil- 
lingly die  if  I  thought  the  sacrifice  of  my  life 
would  save  you,  but  I'm  afraid  there  will  be  a 
curse  on  it." 

"The  lot  has  fallen  on  you,"  said  one. 

"And  fairly,"  said  the  others. 

"Go  ahead  then,"  said  the  Captain ;  "bleed 
me  to  death,  and  if  any  of  you  succeed  in  reach- 
ing home,  let  my  wife  and  boy  believe  I  was 
drowned  or  died,  and  give  them  my  love. 
Now  go  ahead." 


194  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

He  bared  his  arm  and  one  of  the  crew  raised 
the  knife. 

At  that  moment  the  report  of  a  cannon  v/as 
heard. 


AMKEKGK1S  ISLAND.  195 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SIXTH. 

RESCUED. 

The  Rescue  had  a  splendid  passage  from  Bos- 
ton to  the  straits  of  Le  Mairc.  She  encount- 
ered a  heavy  gale  from  the  westward  on  round- 
ing Cape  Horn,  but  was  able  to  pursue  her 
course  with  scarcely  diminished  speed. 

Her  behavior  during  stormy  weather  and  the 
remarkable  speed  she  made  in  all  weathers  'de- 
monstrated the  fact  that  she  was  the  nearest  ap- 
proach to  perfection  in  naval  architecture  that 
modern  skill  had  achieved,  and  her  owner,  old 
Roland  Ranger,  basing  his  judgment  upon  long 
experience  in  ship  building,  became  convinced 
that  upon  her  model  the  future  ocean  steam- 
ship would  be  constructed. 

The  Rescue  was  fitted  with  every  modern  in- 
vention. Edison,  the  famous  wizard  of  Menlo 
Park  had  personally  superintended  the  fitting 
up  of  electrical  apparatus  on  board  of  her. 


196  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

She  had  engines  fitted  up  for  the  manufacture 
of  electrical  power  and  was  furnished  with  a 
system  of  electric  lights  that  could  in  an  in- 
stant be  made  to  deluge  the  vessel  in  a  flood  of 
radiance. 

Her  guns,  some  of  them  of  the  heaviest  cali- 
ber, were  worked  by  electricity  and  her  stecr_ 
ing  apparatus  was  governed  by  the  same  power. 

Altogether  she  was  a  remarkable  vessel  and 
well  fitted  for  the  expedition  for  which  she  had 
been  constructed. 

When  she  reached  the  longitude  of  Ambergris 
Island  she  was  somewhat  to  the  southward  of 
the  latitude,  being  sixteen  degrees  south. 

She  was  headed  due  north  and  a  bright  look- 
out kept  for  the  island. 

A  large  telescope,  erected  on  a  tripod,  was 
placed  in  the  bow  of  the  vessel  and  with  this 
instrument  the  northern  horizon  was  swept  from 
time  to  time. 

Floating  ambergris  had  been  met  in  large 
quantities  and  there  was  no  doubt  in  the  minds 
of  those  on  board  that  they  were  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  ambergris  island. 

The  same  marine  phenomena  presented  them- 


AMBEKGKIS   ISLAND.  197 

selves  that  had  astonished  the  eyes  of  the  voy- 
agers of  the  Star  of  the  Sea. 

"A  boat  ahead  !"  said  the  first  officer,  who 
had  gone  to  the  telescope  after  having  ascertain- 
ed the  latitude  of  the  vessel  to  be  sixteen  de- 
crees south. 

O 

"There  may  be  starving  mariners  in  her," 
said  old  Roland  Ranger,  who  was  on  deck. 
"Fire  a  gun  to  let  them  know  there  is  help 
near." 

The  gun  was  fired  and  it  was  its  report  that 
stayed  the  hand  of  the  sailor  who  was  about  to 
open  a  vein  in  Captain  Ranger's  arm. 

At  the  report  of  the  gun,  Mrs.  Ranger  with 
her  two  maids  came  on  deck  to  learn  the  cause 
of  its  being  fired. 

"There  is  a  boat  ahead,"  said  old  Roland 
Ranger,  as  he  assisted  his  neice  and  her  maids 
to  seats  under  the  awning  which  had  been  erect- 
ed aft  as  a  nrotection  from  the  sun,  "and  we 
have  fired  the  gun  as  a  signal  that  assistance  is 
near  if  she  should  contain  cast-a-way  seamen." 

"That  is  very  thoughtful,"  said  Mrs.  Ranger: 
"O  if  it  should  be  a  boat  belonging  to  the  Star 
of  the  Sea!" 

"We  will  soon  know,"  was  the  reply. 


198  AMBEKGEIS  ISLAND. 

At  this  moment  the  first  officer  came  aft  and 
reported  that  the  boat  was  a  native  canoe  with 
five  men  aboard. 

"Islanders  blown  off  the  land  probably,"  he 
added. 

Tne  Rescue,  ploughing  north  with  the  speed 
of  a  locomotive,  soon  reached  the  canoe. 

The  sea  Avas  smooth  so  she  ran  almost  alon«:- 

o 

side  of  the  boat  as  the  speed  was  slackened  and 
the  vessel  brought  to  a  stop. 

4 'Good  God  !"  exclaimed  old  Roland  Ranger 
as  he  looked  down  into  the  canoe  on  the  glar- 
ing eyes  and  gaunt  faces  of  the  occupants  ; 
"they  are  white  men  !" 

Mrs.  Eanger  looked  down  into  the  canoe  ;  the 
face  of  the  man  in  the  stern  sheets  arrested  her 
attention;  it  was  haggard  and  pale  and  the 
heavy  brown  beard  was  streaked  with  lines  of 
silver.  But  the  calmness  and  fortitude  of  true 
courage  still  preserved  the  natural  light  in  the 
blue  eyes,  and  in  those  blue  eyes  Mrs.  Ranger 
recognized  her  long  lost  husband. 

"Ralph!  Ralph!"  she  cried  stretching  out 
her  arms  ;  then  her  strength  failed  her  and  she, 
sank  fainting  on  the  deck. 

Captain  Ranger  heard  the  cry,  saw  the  loving 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  199 

action,  and,  weak  as  he  was,  he  sprang  up  the 
side  ladder  which  had  been  let  down  and  in  an- 
other moment  was  kneeling  with  his  arms 
clasped  around  the  neck  of  his  wife  from  whom 
he  had 'so  long  been  separated,  and  whom  he 
never  expected  to  meet  again  on  earth. 

"O,  Ralph,"  cried  Mrs.  Ranger,  when  she 
recovered  herself;  "have  I  found  you  at  last?" 

"Yes,  my  darling,  my  wife,  you  have  res- 
cued me.  I  know  not  how  you  came  here — 
but  this  I  know,  we  are  united  again  never  more 
to  part  till  death,  I  hope." 

"How  strange  that  we  should  find  you  first?" 
she  said. 

"Clara,  my  dear,"  said  old  Roland  Ranger, 
interposing;  "no  explanations  at  present, 
Ralph,  my  boy,  shake  hands  and  then — " 

"Uncle  Roland,  too,"  said  Captain  Ranger 
looking  around  him  after  grasping  his  uncle's 
hand.  "Ah!  I  begin  to  comprehend.  Yqu 
have  come  to  seek  me  and  Clara  came  with 
you." 

"You  will  know  everything  by  and  by. 
What  you  want  HOAV  is  beef  tea  and  all  that  sort 
of  thing.  Come  down  below  and  after  Clara 


200  AMBERGEIS   ISLAND. 

has  ministered  to  your  wants  I  will  give  her 
permission  to  tell  everything." 

4 'One  word  Clara — our  boy? — " 

"Is  a  dashing  young  fellow  and  an  honor  to 
his  father,"  said  old  Koland  Ranger ;  "come 
now  beef  tea  first ;  explanations  afterward." 

"I  am  satisfied,"  said  Captain  Ranger  and 
taking  his  wife's  arm  he  was  led  below. 

The  beef  tea  greatly  refreshed  Captain  Han- 
ger and  before  tailing  his  story  he  insisted  upon 
hearing  how  it  was  that,  after  the  lapse  of  so 
many  years,  his  uncle  and  wife  had  thought  of 
his  being  in  that  region  and  come  in  search  of 
him. 

Thereupon  Mrs.  Hanger  made  him  acquainted 
with  the  reasons  that  led  young  Roland  to  fit 
out  his  expedition  and  the  resolve  of  old  Roland 
to  follow  it  with  another. 

"Then,"  said  Captain  Ranger;  "our  son  is 
probably  at  the  island  now." 

"Yes, "said  old  Roland  Ranger;  "we  expect 
to  find  him  there." 

"Then,"  continued  the  Captain,  in  great  ex- 
citement, "put  on  every  pound  of  steam  that  you 
can  produce  and  hurry  to  the  island,  for  if  my 


AMREEGE1S  ISLAND.  201 

son  is  there  and  is  known  to  be  my  son,  he  is 
in  deadly  peril. 

"The  island  is  in  sight  sir,"  said  the  first  offi- 
cer entering  the  cabin  and  addressing  old  Roland. 

"Go  right  ahead  up  to  the  line  of  breakers," 
said  Captain  Ranger. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  Roland  being  in 
deadly  peril,  Ralph?"  asked  Mrs.  Ranger. 

"Because  the  king  of  the  island  is  my  enemy, 
your  enemy  and  the  enemy  of  all  our  family." 

"How  can  that  be?" 

"He  is  the  man  who  was  sent  to  the  state 
prison  for  assaulting  me  on  Chelsea  bridge.  I 
wronged  him  Clara — there  is  no  doubt  of  that. 
He  was  innocent  and  he  was  sent  to  the  state 
prison  on  my  evidence — I  cannot  blame  him 
for  what  he  has  done  to  me,  yet  his  revenge 
has  been  terrible.  O,  the  years  of  anguish  !  I 
have  pictured  you  as  mourning  my  loss  and 
then  marrying  again." 

"O,  Ralph!" 

"Thank  God!  that  terrible  fate  has  been 
spared  me,  but  no  one  could  have  blamed  you. 
O,  I  have  often  pictured  myself  as  another 
Enoch  Ardcn  returning  to  find  you  wedded  to 
some  other  man — yes,  this  Daniel  Spencer  has 


202  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

had  a  terrible  revenge  and  now  our  boy  is  in 
his  power — great  heavens  !  the  ways  of  Provi- 
dence are  inscrutable.  But  if  he  had  deprived 
me  of  wife,  child  and  all,  still  I  could  not  have 
blamed  him,  for  I  ruined  his  life.  It  was  only 
tit  for  tat  that  he  should  ruin  mine." 

"You  did  not  wrong  him  willingly,"  said 
Mrs.  Ranger  as  she  rose  and  went  to  a  drawer. 
"Here,"  she  said,  handing  her  husband  a  news- 
paper clipping  which  was  pasted  on  to  a  sheet 
of  note  paper, « 'is  the  proof  that  your  testimony 
was  honest.'5 

The  Captain  read : 

A  CURIOUS  CASE. 

"  Many  of  our  readers  will  remember  the  case  of  Daniel 
Speneer,  who  some  six  years  ago  was  convicted  of  the 
crime  of  highway  robbery,  with  violence  and  sentenced  to 
state  prison  for  five  years.  The  case  obtained  considera- 
ble noteriety  at  the  time  from  the  fact  that  the  accused 
solemnly  declared  that  he  was  rescuing  the  victim  of  the 
assault, — who,  by  the  way,  was  Captain  Ralph  Ranger,  a 
well  known  and  highly  esteemed  ship  master,  and  a  nep- 
hew of  Roland  Ranger  the  wealthy  Philadelphia  ship 
owner, — from  the  real  assailant.  This  assertion  of  the  ac- 
cused would  probably  have  been  believed  if  Captain  Ran- 
ger had  not  stated  on  the  witness  stand  that  to  the  best  of 
his  belief  Spencer  was  his  assailant.  The  Captain,  how- 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  203 


ever,  would  not  swear  to  this.  The  jury,  nevertheless, 
convicted  Spencer  and  he  went  to  prison,  from  which, for 
good  conduct  and  through  the  influence  of  benevolent 
parties,  he  was  released  after  serving  three  years.  It  now 
appears  that  he  was  really  innocent  of  the  crime.  He  had 
a  twin  brother  and  the  two  were  so  much  alike  that  they 
could  not  be  told  apart,  to  use  a  common  phrase.  His 
brother,  who  had  given  himself  up  to  criminal  practices, 
has  just  been  arrested  for  burglary  and  among  other 
crimes  confesses  that  he  was  the  assailant  of  CaptainRan- 
ger.  It  will  be  therefore  be  seen  that  Captain  Ranger 
could  have  sworn  positively  to  Spencer  being  his  as- 
sailant, but  refrained  from  doing  so — from  merciful  mo- 
tives probably.  Captain  Ranger's  course  in  the  case  was 
highly  creditable  to  him  and  no  doubt  when  the  wrongly 
convicted  Spencer  sees  this  explanation  of  the  matter  he 
will  understand  how  impossible  it  was  for  Captain  Ran- 
ger to  testify  otherwise  than  he  did.  We  say  this  because 
we  have  learned  that  Spencer  made  threats  against  Cap- 
tain Ranger  to  get  even  for  the  wrong  done  him." 

After  reading  the  extract,  Captain  Ranger 
drew  a  long  breath. 

"Clara,"  said  he  with  tears  in  his  eyes.'  "I 
could  have  sworn  positively  to  the  face,  but  I 
saw  that  he  was  young  and  I  testified  as  I  did 
hoping  he  might  get  off. " 

"I  know  it  Ralph, "  she  replied,  as  she  wiped 
away  her  tears,  "you  never  harmed  anyone, 
but  the  mistake  has  cost  us  dear.  Now  tell  me 


204  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

how  you  fell  into  this  man's  hands  and  all  about 
your  long  imprisonment." 

While  the  Captain  is  telling  his  story,  let  u  j 
return  to  our  friends  on  Ambergris  Island. 


AMBERGRIS  ISLAND.  205 


CHAPTER   TWENTY-SEVENTH. 

SAM   TURNS    THE   TABLES. 

When  the  king  of  the  island  found  the  bow 
chaser  confronting  him,  with  Sam  at  the  lan- 
yard, ready  to  explode  the  fuze,  he  did  not  for 
the  moment  know  how  to  act. 

If  the  piece  was  loaded  with  grape,  then  the 
matter  was  serious,  for  it  was  aimed  directly  at 
him,  and  he  could  not  hope  to  escape  if  it  was 
discharged. 

He  felt  that  he  was  in  a  dangerous  situation, 
and  he  tried  to  think  of  a  way  out  of  it. 

He  was  about  to  speak  some  directions  to  his 
followers  when  Sam's  voice  was  again  heard. 

"  Don't  yer  speak  to  yer  Wahoos,  or  by  the 
livin'  Jehosophat,  jimmey  cracks,  I'll  blow  yer 
inter  'finitisimal  artoms.  Call  off  yer  dogs,  king 
—  no,  stop  !  Dr.  Vandenhoffer,  yer  know  the 
lingo  of  these  Wahoos.  Tell  them  to  go  ashore 
an'  get  up  a  big  supper  fur  all  hands.  Say  the 


206  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

king  wants  'em  to  do  it.  King  if  yer  speak  yer 
a  gone  coon." 

Dr.  Vandenhoffer  rubbed  his  bald  head, 
wiped  his  spectacles,  and  gazing  benignantly 
upon  the  natives,  spoke  some  words  rapidly  in 
their  language. 

They  looked  from  Dr.  Vanderhoffer  to  their 
king, 

The  king  looked  at  Sam,  and  at  the  bow 
chaser  into  whose  muzzle  he  could  see. 

"  One  word  an'  yer  transmogrified  inter  saloon 
hash,"  said  Sam,  fingering  the  lanyard  nervously. 

The  king  remained  silent. 

The  naturalist  spoke  again,  and  slowly  the 
natives  went  over  the  side  into  ther  canoes  look- 
ing anxiously  at  their  king,  but  he  spoke  no 
word  and  gave  no  sign. 

"Tell  'em,  Doctor,"  said  Sam,  keeping  his 
eye  upon  the  king ;  "  to  get  things  up  in  style 
fur  the  cook  is  agoin  to  bring  his  fiddle  ashore 
ter  hev  a  dance." 

The  naturalist  again  spoke  and  the  islanders 
paddled  away  to  the  shore,  though  with  evident 
reluctance. 

The  naturalist  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  He 
had  told  them  that  they  had  been  witnesses  of 
a  religious  ceremony  common  among  his  people 


AMBEKGKIS  ISLAND.  207 

and  that  their  king  was  now  under  a  charm  and 
not  allowed  to  speak.  The  closing  ceremonies, 
he  concluded,  could  not  be  performed  in  the 
presence  of  any  but  whites,  and  they  must  leave 
the  vessel  for  a  time,  and  go  on  shore.  He  in- 
structed them  to  prepare  a  banquet  in  which  all 
would  participate  at  the  close  of  the  ceremo- 
nies, 

The  king  heard  an  d  understood  all,  but  with 
the  muzzle  of  Sam's  grape-charged  cannon  star- 
ing him  in  the  face,  dared  not  utter  a  word  of 
contradiction. 

"  Now  then,  old  Steadfast,  cut  ther  ropes  what 
binds  our  fellers,  an'  set  em  all  free,"  cried  Sam 
when  the  canoes  had  reached  the  beach  ;  "  take 
them  there  ropes  ofTeri  the  necks  of  my  old  mas- 
ter, Mister  Hopkins,  an'  Kepting  Bracebridge, 
mi  with  them  same  ropes  tie  thet  there  king  up 
an'  see  how  he  likes  it." 

In  a  few  moments  the  crew  were  set  free  and 
the  king  of  the  island  bound  and  carried  below. 

Fanny,  who  had  passed  from  one  fainting  fit 
into  another,  was  taken  to  her  stateroom  by  her 
father  and  Roland,  and  both  applied  themselves 
assiduously  to  her  recovery. 

"Now  then  old  feller,"  said  Sam  to  the  king, 
when  the  latter  had  been  securely  ironed  in  the 


208  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 

saloon :  "we'll  treat  yer  well,  but  we'll  keep 
yer  as  a  subterfuge." 

"As  a  what  ? "  said  the  lawyer,  rubbing  his 
neck. 

"As  a  subterfuge,  in  course,  now  we  has  him 
safe." 

"O,  as  a  hostage,  you  mean  ;  you  are  right 
my  boy.  We  must  provide  for  our  own  safety." 

The  officers  and  crew  now  crowded  around 
Sam  and  the  cook  to  shake  hands  with  them 
and  to  shower  compliments  upon  them  for  their 
presence  of  mind  and  admirable  arrangement  of 
the  means  by  which  the  tables  were  turned. 

Roland  also  rushed  into  the  saloon. 

"God  bless  you  Sam  !  "  he  exclaimed,  wring- 
ing the  cabin  boy's  hand  ;  "God  bless  you  old 
Sted." 

"  'Twas  Sam  dat  managed  it  all,  sah,"  said 
the  cook ;  "  he  planned  it  right  froo ;  I  only 
helped  'im." 

"Come  Sam,  and  you,  old  Sted.,"  said  Ro- 
land ;  "Fanny  wants  to  see  you  both." 

They  accompanied  Roland  to  Fanny's  state- 
room. 

The  young  lady  was  herself  again,  though  the 
trying  scene  through  which  she  had  passed  had 


AMBEEGEIS  ISLAND..  209 

left  its  traces  upon  her  face  which  was  pale  and 
anxious. 

She  grasped  Sam's  hand  impulsively  and 
kissed  it. 

Sam  blushed  like  a  girl. 

"O  you  good  boy,"  she  said,  "  you  brave  boy, 
you  noble  boy,  how  can  I  ever  thank  you  for 
your  gallant  act!  and  you,  Mr.  Peters,  how 
brave  'of  you,  how  spendid — you  two  to  take 
back  the  ship  from  so  many !  " 

"It  wuz  Sam  dat  planned  de  whole  ting,"  said 
old  Sted,  unwilling  that  his  favorite  should  lose 
a  particle  of  the  praise  due  to  him. 

"  O,  what  a  fate  you  have  saved  me  from," 
said  Fanny,  "you  dear,  good  boy,  I'll  love  you 
forever  for  this." 

Sam  protested  that  it  "was  nothing;  the 
idea  kinder  entered  his  mind  and  with  the  'sis- 
tan  ce  of  old  Sted.  he  carried  it  out." 

"  By  the  man  that  made  lanterns  !  "  exclaim- 
ed Captain  Bracebridge;  "I've  heard  of  men 
having  to  throw  up  their  hands  when  confront- 
ed with  a  revolver,  but  I  never  heard  of  a  man 
having  to  throw  up  his  hands  before  a  forty- 
pound  bow  chaser  loaded  with  grape,  before. 
It  beats  me !  It  beats  me  !  " 

And  notwithstanding  the   terrible  experience 


\ 

210  AMBERGEIS  ISLAND. 

through  which  he  had  just  passed  the  Captain 
laughed  till  the  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks. 

"And  then,"  said  Roland ;  "to  think  of  his 
getting  the  naturalist  to  send  the  natives 
ashore.  I  should  never  have  thought  of  that." 

"It  beats  me !  it  beats  me!"  laughed  the  Cap- 
tain. 

On  deck  the  crew  were  laughing  uproarously. 

What  caused  their  mirth  was  this  : 

Tom  Carl  was  explaining  that  there  was 
nothing  in  the  gun  after  all. 

"  I  loaded  up  the  side  pieces,"  said  he,  "  but 
didn't  put  any  charge  in  the  bow  chaser.  There 
wa'nt  a  blamed  thing  in  her  except  a  pair  of  old 
stockings  that  I  was  darning  on  deck  and 
shoved  into  her  muzzle  in  a  hurry  when  I  was 
called  by  the  sailing  master.  See  ! " 

So  saying,  Carl  thrust  his  arm  into  the  muz- 
zle of  the  bow'diaser,  and  drew  forth  a  pair  of 
of  stockings. 

Their  appearance  was  greeted  with  a  roar  of 
laughter. 

This  news  was  speedily  carried  below  and  the 
king,  hearing  it,  ground  his  teeth. 

"  If  I  had  only  known,"  he  said  to  himself. 

"  What  was  to  be  was  to  be,"  said  Sam,  who 
entering  the  saloon,  overheard  the  words,  "  yer 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  211 

can't  git  away  from  yer  fate  ;  but  there's  one 
thing  I'd  like  ter  ask  yer  old  feller :  what  did 
yer  do  with  thet  there  turkle  you  took  offen  the 
beach  when  yer  captured  this  here  ship  ?  that's 
what  I  want  to  know." 

"Blast  both  you  and  the  turtle  !  "  exclaimed 
the  king  angrily. 


212  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 


CHAPTER   TWENTY-EIGHTH. 

ROLAND  SUCCEEDS  IN  TELLING  FANNY  HIS  LOVE. 

Roland  was  anxious  to  consult  the  lawyer  in 
regard  to  the  legality  of  the  marriage  between 
Fanny  and  the  king  and  sought  an  interview 
with  him  for  that  purpose. 

"Give  yourself  no  uneasiness  on  that  point, 
my  dear  boy,"  said  the  lawyer ;  "  a  marriage 
engagement  entered  into  under  coercion  is  null 
and  void.  Fanny  is  just  as  free  as  she  ever  was. 
Moreover,  my  authority  to  perform  a  marriage 
as  a  justice  of  the  peace  ceases  the  moment  I 
am  outside  the  limits- of  the  country  in  which  I 
hold  residence.  I  was  aware  of  that  when  I 
performed  the  ceremony." 

Roland  drew  a  deep  breath  of  relief. 

"  Thank  you  for  your  comforting  assurance," 
he  said ;  "  I  must  let  Fanny  know  how  she 
stands  with  regard  to  this  man.  She  is  very  un- 
easy about  the  matter,  though  her  father  swears 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  213 


that  if  he  thought  the  marriage  was  legal  he 
would  make  her  a  widow  in  ten  minutes." 

"  There  will  be  no  necessity  for  doing  that 
and  we  must  not  forget  how  much  this  king,  as 
he  calls  himself,  suffered  before  he  became  what 
he  is  now.  I,  as  district  attorney,  and  your 
father  as  a  witness,  ruined  his  life.  If  he  has 
become  desperate  and  revengeful  we  must  not 
forget  who  made  him  so.  It  is  true  that  he  has 
had  a  terrible  revenge  upon  your  father,  but 
then  it  is  no  light  thing  to  be  transformed  from 
a  respectable  young  man  into  a  convict.  It  is 
is  one  of  the  imperfections  of  our  system  of 
criminal  jurisprudence  that  it  fails  to  distinguish 
sometimes,  between  guilt  and  innocence." 

"  Notwithstanding  the  revengeful  disposition 
he  has  shown,  I  sympathize  deeply  with  this 
king,"  said  Roland ;  "I  can  imagine  myself  in 
his  place :  giving  succor  to  a  fellow  creature 
and  being  arrested  and  made  a  convict  for  the 
humane  act.  I  can  not  honestly  say  that  I 
would  not  become  what  he  is.  At  the  same 
time  I  can't  imagine  how  my  father,  one  of  the 
bravest,  gentlest,  and  kindest-hearted  of  men 
should  have  sworn  that  this  man  was  his  assail- 
ant if  he  had  not  good  grounds  for  believing 
him  to  be  so." 


214  AMBERGEIS  ISLAND. 

"Your  father  did  not  swear  to  the  man.  He 
was  very  particular  about  that.  He  said  that 
to  the  best  of  his  belief  he  was  the  man,  but  he 
would  not  swear  so.  There  is  some  mystery 
about  the  matter  that  has  not  yet  been  cleared 
up,  though,  now  that  I  think  of  it,  I  did  hear, 
some  years  afterwards,  that  a  twin  brother  of 
this  man  had  turned  up  who  was  the  real  assail- 
ant, but  I  gave  little  attention  to  the  matter  as 
I  had  retired  from  the  office  of  district  attor- 
ney." 

"  Anyhow,  this  man  must  be  treated  well," 
said  Roland ;  "  though  it  will  be  necessary  to 
keep  him  a  prisoner  until  we  reach  Eden  Is- 
land and  rescue  my  father.  Then  we  will  set 
him  at  liberty  and  bestow  upon  him  such  gifts 
as  lie  in  our  power,  or  carry  him  back  to  civili- 
zation should  he  so  wish  and  allow  him  for  him- 
self half  of  the  quantity  of  ambergris  that  the 
Star  of  the  Sea  can  carry." 

"Which  would  make  him  one  of  the  richest 
men  in  America.  Roland  my  boy  I'm  glad  to  hear 
you  speak  so  forgivingly,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to 
do  for  you  on  United  States  soil  what  I  did  to- 
day for  this  unfortunate  king." 

"If  ever  that  time  arrives,  the  time  when 


AMBEEGRIS   ISLAND.  215 

with  that  dear  girl's  consent  I  can  make  her  my 
wife,  you  shall  perform  the  ceremony." 

Roland  now  took  leave  of  the  lawyer  and 
proceeded  to  the  ladies'  cabin  which  Fanny  now 
occupied  as  a  stateroom. 

He  found  Fanny  alone.  Her  father  had  gone 
on  deck  to  consult  with  the  officers  of  the  vessel 
with  regard  to  making  preparations  for  defence 
should  the  natives  become  imbued  with  the  sus- 
picion that  their  king  was  a  prisoner  and  make 
an  attack  on  the  vessel  with  a  view  to  his  rescue. 

Fanny  had  not  yet  fully  recovered  from  her 
trying  experience. 

Her  cheeks  were  flushed  and  her  eyes  were 
roving  in  the  peculiar  manner  which  denotes  the 
approach  of  hysteria. 

But  the  first  words  that  Roland  spoke  calmed 
her  agitation. 

"  Mr.  Hopkins  says,"  said  Roland  ;  "  that  the 
marriage  is  null  and  void." 

'fc  Thank  God !"  exclaimed  Fanny,  fervently. 

A  few  tears  rolled  down  her  cheeks  and 
drawing  a  deep  sigh  of  relief,  she  added  — 

"  I'm  so  glad  ! " 

"  And  so  am  I,"  added  Roland  emphatically. 

"  Fanny,"  said  he  after  a  short  pause,  "it  is  a 
strange  time  for  me  to  speak  to  }TOU  on  the  sub- 


216  AMBERGKIS  ISLAND. 


ject  I  have  so  often  tried  to  approach — a  strange 
time  for  me  to  think  of  such  a  thing  when  we 
arc  surrounded  by  dangers  and  my  father  yet 
languishes  a  prisoner  in  Eden  Island.  But  the 
terrible  experience  through  which  I  have  passed 
to-day — the  dread  of  losing  you — the — the  fear 
of  not  having  another  opportunity  of  speaking 
to  you  alone  for  some  time  must  plead  as  my 
excuse.  Fanny,  dear  Fanny — I — love — " 

u  Here  is  a  nice  soothing  drink  for  yer,  Miss 
Fanny,"  said  Sam  entering  the  stateroom  with 
a  glass  upon  a  tray ;  yer  father  ordered  it  an' 
old  Sted.  has  mixed  it — Hallo !  sir !  Kepting 
Roland,  excuse  me  sir — "  Sam  on  entering  had 
been  speaking  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the 
glass  in  the  tray,  fearing  to  spill  the  mixture, 
but  suddenly  looking  up,  encountered  the  flash- 
ing eyes  of  Roland — 

The  situation  was  just  the  medicine  Fanny 
needed. 

She  burst  into  a  peal  of  laughter,  in  which 
Roland  after  a  pause,  joined. 

"'Tain't  no  use  talkin',  sir:"  Sam  burst  forth 
desperately ;  "what's  ter  be  is  ter  be.  How 
could  I  help  it?  the  Kepting  orders  this  drink 
an1  old  Sted.  sends  me  here  with  it.  What  kin 
I  do?" 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  217 

"Obey  orders,  Sam,"  said  Fanny. 

"Yer  right  every  time,  Miss,  an'  that's  what  I 
does." 

"Sam,  my  boy,  I  don't  blame  you,"  said  Ro- 
land ;  "but  I've  stood  this  long  enough.  Un- 
derstand, this  young  lady  is  to  be  my  wife — " 

"  In  course  she  is  sir,"  said  Sam,  putting 
down  the  tray  and  making  his  exit  from  the 
cabin. 

"  O,  Roland  !"  said  Fanny  blushing.  "  Why 
did  you—" 

"  I  can't  conceal  it  any  longer  darling.  I 
love  }TOU,  I  love  }'ou.  O,  tell  me,  will  you  be 
mine,  my  own,  my  wife  ?  " 

He  put  his  arm  around  her  and  she  laid  her 
head  upon  lies  breast  murmuring : — 

"  Yes,  dear  Roland  ;  yes,  I  love  you — O,  you 
know  it  well." 

"My  arling!"  exclaimed  Roland,  as  he  im- 
printed the  first  lover's  kiss  that  had  ever  been 
pressed  upon  her  vergin  lips. 


218  AMBERGKIS  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER   TWENTY-NINTH. 

SAM  AND  THE  OCTOPUS. 

Night  had  fallen  on  Ambergris  Island. 

Large  fires  blazed  upon  the  beach  in  the  light 
of  which  the  dusky  forms  of  the  islanders  could 
be  seen  passing  to  and  fro. 

In  the  grand  saloon  of  the  Star  of  the  Sea  Ro- 
land and  his  officers  and  passengers  were  dis- 
cussing the  plan  of  action  to  be  pursued  with 
respect  to  the  natives. 

The  king  of  the  island  had  been  removed  to 
the  forecastle  for  greater  security  and  two  sea- 
men placed  over  him  as  a  guard. 

The  islanders  had  made  no  inquiry  for  him 
and  indeed  had  had  no  further  communication 
with  the  ship  :  they  had  evidently  put  full  faith 
in  the  explanation  given  by  the  naturalist,  of 
the  reasons  for  his  remaining  on  board  of  the 
vessel. 

The  people  of  the  Star  of  the  Sea,  however, 
felt  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  keep  up  the 


AMREKGE1S  ISLAND.  219 

deception  much  longer. 

The  blazing  fires  on  the  beach  and  the  appar- 
ent bustle  among  the  natives  were  evidences 
to  Roland  and  his  friends  that  preparations  were 
in  progress  for  a  grand  pow  wow. 

If  the  people  of  the  Star  of  the  Sea  did  not 
present  themselves  at  this  ceremony  or  jubila- 
tion the  islanders  would  suspect  that  some  de- 
ception was  being  practised  upon  them.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  they  presented  themselves 
unaccompanied  by  the  king,  the  natives  would 
probably  demand  to  have  him  produced. 

The  only  course  left  to  our  friends  was  to 
keep  up  the  deception  as  long  as  possible,  and, 
when  hostilities  were  no  longer  avoidable,  fight 
for  their  lives  and  liberty. 

They  had  a  dim  hope  that  succor  might  be 
near  in  llio  vessel  which  they  had  seen  at  a  dis- 
tance and  which  was  evidently  making  for  the 
island  when  she  passed  from  their  sight  around 
a  point  of  land. 

Roland  conjectured  that  the  vessel  had  been 
sent  out  for  ambergris  by  the  company  of  whose 
formation  and  intention  to  send  out  an  expedi- 
tion Ii3  heard  the  two  Boston  merchants  speak. 

If  this  proved  to  be  the  fact  and  the  vessel 
found  the  passage  through  the  reef,  assistance 


220  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

would   probably    reach    them    within    twenty 
hours. 

"I  think,"  said  Roland,  when  they  had  reach- 
ed this  point  in  their  consultation  ;  "I  think  it 
would  be  well  for  us  to  keep  faith  with  the  is- 
landers and  go  on  shore,  leaving  the  king  on 
board  of  the  vessel." 

"I  hate  to  leave  the  ship,"  said  Captain 
Bracebridge ;  "I  always  felt  at  home  with  a 
plank  beneath  my  feet.  Nevertheless,  I  sup 
pose  it  would  be  the  best  plan  to  visit  the  na-. 
tives.  Dr.  Vandenhoffer  must  do  his  best  to 
pull  the  wool  over  their  eyes  if  they  are  anxious 
about  their  king." 

"Perhaps  it  would  be  better,"  said  the  law- 
yer ;  "to  send  a  reconnoitering  party  on  sliore 
before  we  go  to  find  out  what  preparations  they 
are  making  and  what  resources,  in  arms,  they 
possess  for  offence." 

"A  good  idea  Mr.  Hopkins,"  said  Captain 
Bracebridge. 

"I'll  go  myself,"  said  Roland. 

"0,  no,"  said  Fanny,  hastily  ;  then,  blushing 
deeply,  she  added :  "I  mean,  I  think  more  than 
one  should  go." 

"If  yo'  has  no  dejections,"  said  Steadfast 
Peters,  who,  with  Sam,  had  been  serving  the 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  221 

party  with  refreshments  during  the  consulta- 
tion ;  "me  an'  Sam  'ill  go.  We  kin  do  dat  yar 
business." 

"Yes  siree  bob,  begging  yer  parding  sir,  we 
kin  do  it.  Them  there  Wahoos  is  quite  friend- 
ly ter  us." 

Roland  demurred,  but  after  some  discussion 
it  was  decided  that  the  cook  and  Sam  should 
form  the  reconnoitering  party. 

"Take  the  gig,"  said  Roland. 

"No,  sah,  ef  yo'  please,"  said  the  cook,  "we 
will  take  to  de  water." 

"What!  swim?" 

"Yes,  sah." 

"But  the  sharks?" 

"Sam  an'  me  will  take  care  ob  dem  fellers." 

"But  why  not  take  the  boat  ?  " 

"  'Cause  we  am  gwine  ter  rekonoughter  an' 
not  ter  be  seen  fust  ob  all." 

"All  right.     Do  as  you  think  best." 

Old  Sted.  and  Sam  quickly  made  their  pre- 
parations. Each  armed  himself  with  a  long 
knife,  and,  divesting  themselves  of  all  superflu- 
ous clothing,  they  dropped  silently  into  the 
water  and  struck  out  for  the  shore. 

Sam  was  not  without  fear.  He  had  not  for- 
gotten his  adventure  with  the  shark.  But  he 


222  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

had  faith  in  old  Stad.,  and  swam  steadily  at  his 
side. 

In  a  few  moments  they  saw  a  shark  show  his 
fin  a  few  feet  from  them. 

"Dat  yar  shark  am  rekonoughterin'  me  an' 
you  Sam,"  whispered  old  Sted. 

Sam  shuddered  and  closed  in  to  the  side  of 
his  friend. 

"Don't  yo'  be  'fraid  ob  him,  my  boy.  Ise 
gwine  ter  teach  yo'  dat  ar  trick  ob  mine.  When 
I  gib  yo'  de  word  you  jest  drop  under  him  wid 
your  eyes  open.  Yo'  kin  see  him  by  de  fustfur- 
ersence.  Run  your  knife  up  froo  him  an'  gib 
him  a  rip  an'  he's  deader  nor  a  baked  possum." 

Sam  was  resolved  to  learn  the  trick  of  killing 
a  shark  and  he  paid  the  closest  attention  to  the 
directions  of  his  colored  friend. 

The  shark  was  coming  closer;  he  was  now 
within  four  feet  of  Sam. 

"Now,  my  boy,"  whispered  the  cook  ;  "sink 
down,  swim  beneaf  'im  an'  gib  'im  de  steel." 

Sam  sank  silently  beneath  the  surface,  and 
an  instant  later  the  shark,  witn  a  snort,  sprang 
half  out  of  the  water  and  dropping  back  sank 
from  sight. 

"How's  that,  old  Sted?"  asked  Sam  as  he 
rose  by  the  side  of  the  cook  and  drew  a  long 


AMBEKGKIS  ISLAND.  223 


breath. 

"Dat  is  bully.  Yo'  hab  killed  your  fust 
shark  yo'  am  safe  now,  No  mo'  sharks  will 
come  roun'  yo'  dis  night,  yo'  heah  me.  Put  a 
pin  dar." 

"I  felt  kinder  queer  though,"  saidSam  "when 
I  sunk.  My  heart  wuz  in  my  mouth,  but  I  saw 
him  plain  by  the  fire  track  he  made  an'  I  guv 
him  ther  knife  quickerin  lightnin'. 

"Yo'  did  my  boy.     Yo'  hab  done  bully." 

"Yo'  needn't  put  yer  arm  aroun'  me  Sted  ;  I 
ain't  tired  an'  we  almost  at  the  beach." 

"What  am  dat  yo  say  ?  I  didn't  put  my  arm 
roun'  yo'." 

"What !  It's  there  yet — an'  there's  another 
an'  another.  Sted.,  there's  somethin'  pulliri' 
me  down.  Help  me,  Sted!  somethin's  squeezin' 
ther  breath  outer  me." 

"By  de  lor',  Sam !"  exclaimed  the  cook; 
"dar's  an  arm  roun'  me,  too.  Golly  it  am  de 
debbil  fish — de  octerpus  !  cut,  Sam,  cut !"  and 
the  cook  began  slashing  on  both  sides  of  him 
with  his  knife. 

Sam  did  the  same  and  succeeded  in  freeing 
himself,  but  a  wriggling  mass  of  arms  now  sur- 
rounded the .  cook  and  although  old  Sted.  cut 
and  slashed  with  desperate  energy  he  was  held 


224  AMBERGRIS  ISLAND. 

fast  and  could  not  extricate  himself  from  the 
twining  coils. 

He  was  in  the  grasp  of  a  monster  octopus. 

Fortunately  Sam  at  that  moment  felt  the 
ground  beneath  his  feet. 

"Swim  to  de  sho',  Sam,"  cried  the  cook;  "or 
he'll  hab  yo',  too.  Ise  gone-  He's  crushin'  de 
bref  out  ob  my  body." 

"Swim  to  ther  shore,"  responded  Sam ;  "no 
siree  bob.  Not  while  old  Sted.  is  in  danger." 

So  saying  Sam  made  a  furious  onslaught  on 
the  mass  of  wriggling  arms,  lopping  them  off 
one  by  one  with  his  long  sharp  knife. 

The  water  was  lashed  into  foam  around  them 
in  the  struggle.  Several  times  Sam  was  caught 
by  an  arm,  but  instantly  freed  himself  and 
bravely  waged  the  contest  until  he  succeeded  in 
freeing  his  friend  from  his  perilous  position. 

"There  !"  cried  Sam,  when  his  keen  knife 
severed  the  last  arm  that  held  the  cook ;  "yer 
free,  old  Sted." 

They  made  their  way  to  the  shore.  Both 
were  greatly  exhausted  by  the  struggle  and  it 
was  some  time  before  they  recovered  their 
strength.  After  resting  they  continued  stealth- 
ily up  the  beach  and  made  an  examination  of 
the  camp  of  the  islanders. 


AMBERGKIS  ISLAND.  225 

Men  and  women  were  scattered  around  in 
groups  chatting  and  laughing.  Some  were 
cooking  various  kinds  of  fish  and  monster  tur- 
tles were  being  baked  in  their  shells.  Every- 
thing bore  the  aspect  of  peace. 

As  the  cook  and  Sam  gazed  on  the  scene  the 
latter  having  recovered  his  wonted  pleasantry, 
remarked  : 

"Now  I've  found  out  where  thet  there  turkle 
went  to." 

Just  then  some  of  the  islanders  started  to 
their  feet  with  loud  ejaculations  and  pointed  in 
the  direction  of  the  sea. 

The  cook  and  Sam  turned  and  looked  in  the 
same  direction  and  to  their  consternation  be- 
held their  vessel,  the  Star  of  the  Sea,  a  mass  of 
flame  from  her  bow  to  her  waist. 


226  AMBEBGRIS  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER  THIRTIETH. 

DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  STAR  OF  THE  SEA. 

How  the  vessel  had  caught  fire  no  one  knew, 
but  so  dry  was  everything  about  her,  from  the 
heat  of  the  tropic  sun,  that  in  an  hour  after  the 
fire  was  discovered,  all  that  remained  of  the 
Star  of  the  Sea  was  that  portion  of  her  hull  be- 
low the  water  line. 

Roland  wept  as  he  gazed  upon  the  ruins  of 
his  beautiful  schooner,  dimly  seen  in  light  of 
the  expiring  flames. 

By  flooding  the  magazine  they  had  prevented 
her  from  being  blown  to  pieces,  but  she  was  as 
much  a  ruin  as  if  that  catastrophe  had  occurred. 

This  event  once  more  turned  the  tables. 

The  king  of  the  island  was  at  liberty  and  at 
the  head  of  his  people  and  our  voyagers  were 
once  more  his  prisoners. 

They  expected  little  mercy  at  his  hands.  His 
wounded  ear  was  giving  him  great  pain,  though 
the  surgeon  of  the  Star  of  the  Sea  had  dressed 


AMBEKGRIS  ISLAND.  227 

it  with  the  utmost  care,  and  he  was  in  a  sullen 
and  vengeful  mood. 

When  the  last  flicker  in  the  ruins  of  the  Star 
of  the  Sea  had  expired  the  king  announced  his 
intentions  with  regard  to  the  party. 

"I  will  carry  you  all,"  said  he,  "to  Eden 
Island.  You  will  be  left  at  perfect  liberty  and 
will  be  free  to  marry  native  wives  if  you  so  de- 
sire. You  will  be  my  subjects  and  on  the  same 
footing  with  my  islanders,  except  that  you  will 
never  be  allowed  to  leave  the  island.  I  cannot 
afford  to  have  any  of  you  escape  and  afterward 
bring  a  United  States  naval  force  against  me.5' 

"  We  cud'nt  do  that,  King,"  chimed  in  Sam. 

"  You  had  better  keep  quiet,"  said  the  king 
with  a  scowl ;  "  I  owe  you  something  for  to- 
day's business." 

"  Beg  yer  parding,  yer  majesty.  I  was  agoin' 
ter  say  that  the  United  States  haint  got  no  navy 
ter  bring  agin  yer  ;  at  least  so  ther  noospapers 
say." 

"  And  what  are  your  intentions  with  regard 
to  this  lady  ?  asked  Roland,  pointing  to  Fanny. 

"  My  intentions  with  regard  to  my  wife  !  ha ! 
ha !  That's  a  pretty  question  to  ask  a  husband  ! 
Ha  !  my  God !  what's  that !  " 

The  islanders  set  up  a  sudden  cry  of  terror, 


228  AMBERGRIS   ISLAND. 


and  our  voyagers  stood  transfixed  with  astonish- 
ment. A  moment  before  all  was  dark  upon 
the  water,  arid  now  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  the  shore  lay  a  large  steamship,  glittering 
from  stem  to  stern  with  electric  light. 

Her  long  low  hull,  the  domes  on  her  deck,  the 
smoke  stacks,  the  flag-staff  with  the  United 
States  flag  were  all  as  plainly  visible  as  if  it 
were  noon-day. 

Moreover  the  forms  of  the  men  were  seen  in 
various  parts  of  the  vessel,  and  at  the  stern 
stood  a  group  in  which  females  could  be  dis- 
tinguished. 

And  now  there  ascended  from  the  vessel  a 
shower  of  rockets  of  all  colors — red,  blue,  green, 
purple  and  yellow. 

With  ejaculations  of  terror  the  natives  fled 
in  all  directions,  men,  women,  and  children 
crowding  upon  each  other. 

The  shower  of  rockets  was  followed  by  the 
discharge  of  several  guns  of  heavy  calibre,  and 
as  the  reports  followed  each  other — bang !  bang ! 
bang !  wild  shrieks  rose  from  the  natives  as  they 
fled  to  the  forest. 

"Seize  the  king!"  shouted  Roland  to  his 
men. 


AMBEEGEIS   ISLAND.  229 

The  order  was  obeyed  instantly  and  the  king 
was  once  more  a  prisoner. 

"Now  then  to  the  boats,  and  let  us  go  on 
board  of  that  vessel  before  the  natives  recover 
from  their  terror,"  said  Capt.  Bracebridge  :  "we 
are  all  right  now.  Three  cheers,  boys,  hurrah  ! 
hurrah !  hurrah  !  tiger  !  " 

The  party  hurried  to  the  boats  and  were  soon 
alongside  the  ship. 

When  Roland  reached  the  deck  he  stood  gaz- 
ing in  astonishment. 

His  mother,  with  the  arm  of  a  strange  man 
around  her,  stood  before  him. 

As  his  eyes  fell  upon  the  stranger's  face  his 
heart  gave  a  great  leap. 

"  Mother  !  "  ejaculated  Roland. 

"  My  son  !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Ranger,  clasping 
him  to  her  heart.  "  O  Roland,  my  darling  boy  ! 
do  you  know  who  this  is  ?  " 

"  My  son !  my  boy !  "  faltered  the  stranger. 

"  Father  !  "  Roland  sprang  forward  with  a 
shout  of  joy,  and  the  long-separated  father  and 
son  were  clasped  in  each  other's  arms. 

The  king  of  the  island  stood  looking  on  with 
a  softer  expression  on  his  face  than  it  had  worn 
since  meeting  with  our  voyagers. 

"  God  is  on  their  side,"  he  murmured.     "  Per- 


230  AMBEEGEIS   ISLAND. 


haps,  after  all,"  he  added,  after  a  short  pause, 
"  it  is  better  to  forgive  than  to  avenge  injuries." 
"Daniel  Spencer,"  said  Captain  Ralph  Ran- 
ger approaching  the  king,  "you  are  probably 
surprised  to  see  me  here.     I  escaped  from  Eden 
Island  and  was  picked  up  by  this  steamer,  well- 
named  the  Rescue,  and  found  my  wife  on  board 
of  her.     I  learned  that  my  son  had  set  out  in 
search  of  me  and  was  probably  at  Ambergris 
Island.     I  feared  that  you.  would  do  him  harm 
if  he  fell  into  your  hands.     We  hurried  on  here 
as   rapidly  as  possible.      I   knew   the   passage 
through  the  reefs.     We  passed  through  it  before 
dark  and  began  to  circle  the  island.     We  saw 
your  fires  and  made  the  display  of  electric  light 
and  fired  the  rockets  and  guns  to  frighten  your 
people.    I  have  found  my  boy ;  he  is  safe.   Now 
don't  you  think  you've  had  a  full  revenge  for 
the  injury  I  did  you  unintentionally  ?  " 
"  You  swore  a  lie  and  made  me  a  convict." 
*'  I  was  deceived  by  appearances.     My  assail- 
ant was  your  twin  brother." 
"  What !  my  brother  !  " 
"  Yes  ;  I  can  prove  it  to  you.     Read  this." 
Captain  Ranger  took  the  newspaper  extract 
from  his  pocket-book  and  handed  it  to  the  king. 


AMBERGRIS   ISLAND.  231 

The  latter  read  it  and  crushing  it  in  his  hand 
said  : 

"  God  forgive  me  !  You  swore  to  the  truth, 
after  all,  for  we  looked  exactly  alike." 

"  Are  you  satisfied  with  your  revenge  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  I  have  done  you  a  great  injury  ! " 

"  It  is  forgiven.  You  are  free  to  return  to 
your  islanders  or  to  go  with  us  to  the  United 
States." 

"  I  should  prefer  to  remain  here." 

"  It  shall  be  as  you  decide." 

Captain  Ranger  was  now  greeted  by  his  old 
friend,  Captain  Bracebridge,  and  the  party 
going  below  to  the  grand  saloon,  mutual  ex- 
planations were  made  in  which  the  people  of 
the  Rescue  and  those  of  the  burned  Star  of  the 
Sea  were  made  acquainted  with  the  events  that 
preceded  their  coming  together  as  they  are 
known  to  the  reader. 

There  was  great  surprise  when  old  Sted.  gave 
a  description  of  the  skill  with  which  Sam  dis- 
posed of  the  shark,  and  detailed  the  adventure 
with  the  monster  octopus,  and  the  bravery  of 
the  cabin  boy  was  highly  lauded. 

Roland  introduced  Fanny  to  his  mother  as 
the  prospective  Mrs.  Roland,  much  to  the  young 
lady's  confusion. 


232  AMBEKGKIS  ISLAND. 

Mrs.  Eanger  kissed  Fanny  affectionately  and 
said  that  she  would  be  proud  and  happy  to  have 
her  as  a  daughter. 

Next  day  the  crews  of  the  two  vessels  began 
the  work  of  lading  the  Rescue  with  ambergris. 

The  king  of  the  island  having  explained  to 
his  people  the  phenomena  that  had  caused  their 
fright  and  removed  their  fear  of  the  vessel,  they 
filled  their  canoes  with  ambergris  and  brought 
it  to  the  ship  in  such  quantities  that  the  lading 
process  went  on  rapidly. 

Meanwhile  the  naturalist  busied  himself  in 
collecting  specimens  of  everything  curious  on 
the  island. 

When  the  Rescue  was  loaded  and  ready  to 
start  the  king  came  on  board  and  took  farewell 
of  the  party. 

He  begged  the  forgiveness  of  all  whom  he 
had  injured  or  intended  to  injure,  and  hoped 
they  would  think  kindly  of  him. 

As  he  parted  from  Captain  Ranger  he  said, 
while  the  tears  stood  in  his  eyes  — 

"  If  my  brother  is  in  prison  it  is  probably  the 
best  place  for  him  ;  still  if  you  could  do  any- 
thing for  him  —  " 

"I'll  do  it,  depend  upon  it,"  said  Captain 
Ranger. 


AMREKGE1S  ISLAND.  233 

The  Rescue  was  then  headed  for  sea,  and  two 
hours  later  Ambergris  Island  disappeared  from 

view. 


234  AMBEBGEIS  ISLAND. 


EPILOGUE. 


A  few  months  ago  there  was  a  brilliant  wed- 
ding at  one  of  the  churches  of  Chelsea. 

The  bridegroom  was  a  handsome  sunbrowned 
youth,  and  the  bride  a  young  lady  of  surpassing 
loveliness. 

"  A  handsome  pair,"  was  the  comment  of  the 
spectators. 

They  were  our  old  friends,  Roland  Ranger 
and  Fanny  Bracebridge. 

In  the  bridal  party  were  a  colored  man  and  a 
white  boy,  in  whom  the  reader  will  have  no 
difficulty  in  recognizing  old  Sted.  and  Sam. 

While  the  service  was  being  read  by  the  cler- 
gyman, Roland  kept  casting  sidelong  glances  at 
Sam,  and  the  latter  whispering  to  the  cook,  said, 

"  I  guess  he's  a-thinkin'  that  I'm  a-goin'  ter 
shout  '  land  ho  ! '  or  somethin'  jist  as  the  minister 


AMBERGRIS  ISLAND.  285 

axes  him  if  he  takes  her  fur  better  or  fur  worse." 
"  Dat  am  jest  what  am  passin'  froo  his  mind. 

Yo'  keep  your  mouf  shet.     Yo'  heah  me  ?     Put 

a  pin  dar ! " 

But   the   injunction    was  not  needed.      The 

ceremony  proceded  without   interruption    and 

Roland    Ranger  and   Fanny  Bracebridge  were 

pronounced  man  and  wife. 

"Now,"  observed  Sam  to  old  Sted.,  "he's  got 

her,  'cordin'  to  the  statoots  made  an'  purvided." 

44  Put  a  pin  dar  !  "  answered  old  Sted. 

*****          **** 

"  Well,"  said  Lawyer  Hopkins  to  Dr.  Vanden- 
hoffer  as  the  bridal  party  passed  from  the  church; 
"this  is  a  happier  wedding  than  that  one  at 
Ambergris  Island." 

44  Eet  ees,  but  I  tought  you  were  to  marry  de 
pair." 

44  That  was  Roland's  arrangement,  but  Fanny 
preferred  to  be  married  in  a  church  by  a  clergy- 
man, and  it  is  better  so." 

44  What  has  been  done  about  de  brudder  of  de 
king,  who  is  in  prison?" 

44  He  has  been  pardoned  through  the  efforts 
of  Captain  Ranger." 

44  Dat  is  noble." 

44  That- is  the  Captain's  revenge." 


236  AMBEKGRIS  ISLAND. 


"  Eet  ees  well,  We  are  all  reech,  we  are  al 
happy." 

"  Yes,  all  connected  with  the  two  expeditions 
have  been  fortunate,  and  everything  ends  hap 
pily  in  this  wedding," 


THE  END. 


Evans'  Standard 


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